


Smooth as Stone

by oliveoilcafe



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Azula Joins the Gaang (Avatar), Big Brother Zuko (Avatar), Book 3: Fire (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Not Canon Compliant, Rating May Change, Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliveoilcafe/pseuds/oliveoilcafe
Summary: After Ember Island, the Fire Nation teens decide to abandon the Fire Nation. Instead of going home, they start traveling to the Fire Nation in search of the Avatar and his friends.The gaang goes through the Fire Nation as normal, but they have an encounter in Fire Fountain City that changes everything.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko, Ty Lee & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 82
Kudos: 233





	1. Change in the Tides

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure about how often I'm going to post, but I want to get a few chapters out within the next couple of days before i start a set schedule

Zuko had reached a decision. He did not want to go home. Everything that he went through on Ember Island just cemented that. He also could not stay here, and nor did he really want to. 

Zuko tossed and turned throughout their second to last night on Ember Island. The wooden ceiling stared back at him as he tried to figure out what to do. He could find the Avatar and his friends? He knew they were alive and probably traveling to the palace right now for the invasion. 

He was the great grandson of Avatar Roku. He had found out that much before he left for ‘vacation.’ He didn’t know what to do with that information. It’s not like they would forgive him just because he was related to the Avatar’s past life. Well, technically, he was related to another avatar, but she was such a distant relative that it didn’t count. 

The light covers that covered his torso might as well have been made out of heavy fur. They practically burned his skin as they suffocated him. All he wanted was to breathe, but breathe he could not. Not when he had to make a plan by the time they left in two days. 

After the party, the four of them hung around the flames of the burning house. Azula would not get into any trouble. Father would encourage the violent behavior in  _ her _ . But not with Zuko. Zuko would be punished greatly. Chan was the son of an Admiral, and, therefore, Ozai would be furious at the destruction of an important military member’s home. Even if it was just his summer home. 

No, Zuko would be punished, maybe even burned. Not on his face, the only time he was ever burned where someone could see was during the Agni Kai. He would be burned on his torso and arms. Places that just looked like training accidents. 

He already sported tens of little scars. His back was the most popular place, but there were scars through his chest and shoulders as well, usually the places covered by a tunic. 

There were two bigger scars though, almost pink with time, on his wrists. If you looked closely, you could see that they were the shape of hands wrapped around his wrists. They were still raw sometimes, but mostly, they just looked natsy. 

The sun was slowly starting to peek through the ocean. Zuko was hit with a burst of energy. Power slowly started to rush through him, waking him even though he hadn’t gone to sleep. 

Sunlight streamed onto his face, first onto his scar, then the rest of his face. Sighing, Zuko turned to the side. He had to squint because of the harsh light. His feet rested on the floor as he sat up. He didn’ want to face the day, but he must. 

He had to talk to Mai. They made up last night, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be with her anymore. Yeah, she was important to him, but he didn’t feel the same way he did when he first got home. If he was leaving anyway, he had to make sure she knew they weren’t together anymore. 

That was the only thing on his to do list that day. Break up with Mai. That, and make a plan for tonight. Easy enough. 

The stairs creaked under his feet as he walked outside. He saw Azula practicing her forms, but they were sloppy. She hit her landings but she wobbled afterwards. She punched her fire with precision, but they turned into a cloud two feet away. She was off her game. Zuko suspected that it had to go with her sipping some rice wine the night before. 

“If you’re just going to sit there, Dum Dum, you might as well join me,” Azula taunted as she hit another lackluster kick. 

Zuko half smiled, thinking today could be the day he finally beat her. “Fine. You do always get what you want, don’t you, Azza.” 

She frowned at the childhood nickname. Azula could call him ‘Zuzu’ all she wanted, but when Zuko gave her a taste of her own medicine, suddenly they were too old for nicknames. 

“Very well, Zuzu. I do get what I want.” She turned to face him, putting her hands on her hips, “And what I want is to spar. It’ll be just like old times.”

Zuko smirked. “Yeah, just like old times.” 

“I’ll give you a few minutes to warm up,” she said, going back to her own work. “Just so you don’t have any excuses when I beat you.” 

“You have always been very generous,” he teased as he went through his katas. 

He was good. Practically a master now. But, he was not as good as Azula. 

He slipped into the forms like always. First a punch, then a flaming kick and he twisted, jumping in the air. He moved gracefully, more gracefully than Azula that morning. 

His feet were digging into the ground when he flipped onto them. Azula was watching him now, probably with disdain. They weren’t allowed to train together at the palace. Father wanted them to be unaware of each other’s skills. Yes, they fought against and with each other while in the Earth Kingdom, but Azula hadn’t seen him since. He was angrier than ever, and his forms showed his power. 

“Ready,” he asked once he finished his set. 

Azula rolled her eyes at him. “You’re so dramatic, Zuzu.” 

Zuko almost laughed, “Let’s just start now, shall we?” 

Azula lowered into her fighting stance, “We shall.” 

She struck first. Her blue fire contrasting what Zuko created. Golden flames crashed against hers as the pair fought. The siblings landed blow after blow, but Zuko had the advantage. 

He swept one of her blue flames aside as he punched his own at her. However, she was preparing another blast of her own. The force of their connected punches pushed both of them backwards. 

Zuko was flying through the air and hit the ground with a thud. He groaned, rolling onto his back and sitting up. Azula was no better. She had hit the ground across from him, spitting out some of the sand or dirt that she accidentally inhaled. Zuko smiled to himself, watching as she desperately tried to get out the sand. 

Azula glared back at him, and Zuko couldn’t help but smirk. 

“Well,” he said, getting onto his feet. “I’d say that was a tie.” 

Azula huffed as she stood as well. “I suppose so. But don’t get used to it, Zuzu. This is the only draw you’ll ever get from me.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” he said as she stomped away from him. Zuko went down to the waves to cool down. The sweat from the past hours events was feeling gross against his skin. He was almost disappointed in himself that he couldn’t stand to have an hour's worth of sweat on him, when a few months ago, he was starving and roaming from town to town. 

Zuko dove into the waves, the water slipping around him as he swam. There was no one on the beach. It was technically a public beach, but because of the docks, no one actually used it. Whenever he lungs started burning, Zuko would finally lift his head from the water and breathe. He must have swam for a long time, as Mai was waiting for him on the sand by the time he was done. He hadn’t even noticed her come by. 

It must have been mid day if she was awake. Both she and Ty Lee couldn’t wake up as early as the royal siblings. They weren’t fire benders, it wasn’t in their blood. 

Zuko waded out of the water, noticing the disinterested look on Mai’s face. Maybe after this conversation, Zuko wouldn’t have to worry about the first part of his to do list. That would be great, but he doubted it. 

“Hello, Zuko,” Mai said. Her face gave away nothing, it never did. Even after their conversation last night. 

“Hi, Mai,” he said, trying to smile. “How long were you out here? I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” 

Mai sighed. “But the bullshit, Zuko. We need to talk.” 

“I suppose we do,” he acquiesced. 

Mai looked down between them, the most emotion showing on her face so far. She just looked nervous. “I-” she stammered. Zuko grew worried, she never spoke like this before. “I know that we got back together last night, but there’s something I have to tell you. I don’t really know how to tell you, but I- uh…” 

Zuko rested a hand on his shoulder. Of course he wanted to soothe her. Even if he wasn’t in love with her, she was still important to him. “It’s okay, Mai, you can tell me anything.” 

She took a deep breath. “We can’t be together anymore.” 

His eyes widened. She just made his job a lot easier. But, he could tell there was more. He titled his head and stayed silent, allowing her to continue. 

“I think I- I like girls,” she said, letting out a breath. 

Zuko smiled. “That’s great that you figured that out Mai, I’m happy for you.” 

There was a slight smile on her face as she asked, “You’re not mad?” 

He shrugged. “Of course not. I guess it’d be different if you were just breaking up with me, but if you like girls then we were never going to work out,” he said. “Plus, I’ve been feeling a strain for a while. We felt forced, and I wasn’t happy, even after our conversation last night.” 

“So, are we good?” she asked. 

“Great,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her along with him into the house. The short walk was quiet, but not awkward. Once they made it back to the house, the former couple parted ways, leaving Zuko the rest of the day to think of his escape. 

***

The sun went down a couple hours ago. Zuko pulled the hood of his cloak around his face as he went to slip into the night. After that morning, Zuko tried to avoid his friends. He had a very awkward conversation with Ty Lee when he went to grab food, but it was more him being awkward than her. 

His bag was packed with some extra food and clothes. It was strapped across his back along with his swords. The weight of his swords was familiar against his chest and back. He was a little put off by the fact that there wasn’t the weight of his Blue Spirit mask against his face. 

Zuko tip toed out of the house. There was no light anywhere, so he figured he was safe. He didn’t leave a note or anything. No one could know where he was going nor could they have any reason as to why he was leaving. 

He made no noise as he climbed down the steps of Lo and Li’s old Ember Island home. The cool breeze pulled back his hood. Zuko frowned as he put it back so it was covering his face.

One of the first things for him to do when he left was cut his hair. The bangs in front of his face were getting too long and he was due for a trim. 

He walked down the beach, looking for a little boat that he spotted this morning on the beach and decided to make use of when he was planning in his room. But, there was nothing there. The boat was gone. Or, at least, it was in a different spot. 

“Zuzu,” he heard Azula say. Zuko jumped out of his skin as he whipped around to face her. His eyes were wide. The movement caused his hood to fall off again, but he made no move to put it back. 

Azula wasn’t alone. She was flanked by her friends. They stood in a menacing circle around him. 

“Hey, Azula, I was- just, uh…” 

“Leaving?” she offered. With a snarl, she supplied, “Running away?” 

His eyes widened further, “No! I-”

“Save it, Zuzu.” She rolled her eyes. She looked at him like there was something he was missing. “I know you’re trying to escape. It’s so painfully obvious. One would think you weren’t even trying to hide it. You are terribly un sneaky,” she lamented. 

Zuko smiled to himself, knowing he was actually very sneaky. “What do you want, Azula.” 

“Maybe I want to come with.” 

Zuko’s jaw dropped. Only then did he notice that each of them were also carrying a bag. Bags big enough for some extra food, clothes, and weapons. 

“Maybe you’re not the only one who doesn’t want to go home,” she continued. “Maybe home isn’t the same anymore.” 

Zuko was still in shock. 

Azula rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on Zuzu, stop being so obtuse.” She threw her bag into the boat he was planning on using. She moved it from its original place. “Now pack your stuff and let’s get going.”


	2. Rocky Shore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the fire nation four start their journey to fire fountain city. when they get there something shocks them, even though they should have seen it coming
> 
> the gaang makes their way to fire fountain city and unintentionally goes to a memorial service for the prince and princess katara doesn't know how to feel

Zuko was still very confused as Azula threw her bag into the boat. He was more confused when Mai and Ty Lee followed suit. Well, nevermind, that wasn’t as confusing. They did everything she did, whether they wanted to or not. 

Azula sat at the head of the ship, Mai and Ty Lee sat behind her. The boat was small, it didn’t have a lot of extra room for them. Zuko stood on the beach, his back on the boat, and his hands resting on the end. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for both the journey ahead, and pushing the boat into the water. 

He let the breath out and pushed. He ran a few steps with the boat before it was in enough water that he could jump in. 

Ty Lee made a face when he hopped into the boat. His waterlogged pants getting salt water on her face. He would have found it funny if he weren’t resigning himself to Agni knows how long with them. 

“Where are we headed?” he asked. He knew she had a plan already, a plan way better than his. 

Azula turned to face him. Without her makeup on she looked younger, like how a fourteen year old should. Her hair was left down, as opposed to her usual top knot. It was kind of concerning to see her without any extravagance. It didn’t suit her. The one thing she wasn’t good at was being and living modestly, not that Zuko thought himself any better. 

Her plain lips curled into something resembling a smile, but it missed the mark. “Fire Fountain City.” 

“Why Fire Fountain City? There’s really nothing there, but not enough nothing for it to be inconspicuous.” 

Azula rolled her eyes at him, like always. He wondered if she ever hurt herself from rolling her eyes at him so often. “Tell me, Zuzu. How were you going to disappear? How would people know where to look, or where not to look?” 

Zuko didn’t have an answer and Azula knew that. They both knew he couldn’t plan that far ahead to save his life. He was the boy who swam in arctic waters because he saw some seal turtles do it. Zuko dove head first into the ocean not knowing if he’d make it out alive. 

The somewhat smile that covered Azula’s face turned into an almost smile. “That’s what I thought. Now, Zuzu, it is quite unfortunate that there was a break in at our beach house. The robbers found us sitting in the living room and took us quietly. There is a letter being sent to father to discuss terms, but the next day, he will have the unfortunate task of finding human ash in a package.” Zuko’s eyes widened, not believing what she was telling him, how did she get human ashes? “The ashes are from the Dragon Catacombs, I grabbed them before we left.” Azula had fully turned around now, her long, raven hair, flowing in the wind. 

“You were going to do this all along?” he asked. She nodded. “You were going to run away from the Fire Nation with your friends, and _me_ , and you didn’t bother to say anything about it to me! You didn’t mention it _at all_!” he yelled. Sure, it wasn’t the best move he could make, but he was angry. Angrier than that morning. When he was leaving by himself, he had regained some sense of peace, but now that was being taken away from him. 

“I didn’t tell you because I knew you would do it on your own.” She moved away from him, looking ahead of the boat. “If you were going to leave, you had to be doing it for yourself, I couldn’t ask you to do it for me. I wouldn’t want you to, nor would you do it at all.” By the end of her speech, her head was tilted so that he could see her profile. 

There was silence. A long silence. There were a million things running through his head, but one of the loudest things was ‘Could he and Azula start over?’ ‘Could they build a new and strong relationship?’ Considering where the past few days had led them, Zuko figured that the answer to both of those questions was ‘yes.’ Yes, they could start over. Yes, they could build a strong relationship. They were torn apart in their early years and forced to grow up envying the other. It was a cruel rivalry that neither of them asked for, neither of them wanted. 

Zuko sighed, if only to keep up appearances. “Which way to Fire Fountain City?” he asked. 

The corner of Azula’s mouth twitched into the first real smile he’d seen from her yet. 

She pointed the direction and they steered their way over, paddling following the stars. 

***

Appa landed on a clearing that was a ten minute walk from the city. According to Sokka’s ‘Master Schedule,’ they would be staying here for 3 days to a week, depending on the winds. 

They arrived at mid day, the hot Fire Nation summer made traveling in the afternoon almost impossible. Aang and Toph were more used to the heat, but Katara and her brother were melting. The clothes they had liberated (stolen) fit pretty well, but they did not make the heat any more bearable. Sometimes, there would be a warm breeze that swirled around her skirt and gave her some relief, but, most of the time, she was sweating bullets. 

The clearing was nice, it held a nice view of the city, but they were unable to be seen by any of the citizens. Toph liked it because it was nice and earthy, Aang liked it because he got to still be close to the people, Sokka liked it out of convenience, and Katara liked it for two reasons, there was a river, and they could perfectly see the fountain. However, it must not be working, as there was no water coming out of the huge statue. 

“I want to go into town,” Toph said. “I’d like to ‘liberate’ some food that isn’t rice and vegetables.” 

Katara scoffed, there wasn’t anything wrong with her rice and vegetables. There wasn’t much else they could eat without consuming meat. It was easier and cheaper to just make everything vegetarian so they hadn’t had actual meat since they got to the Fire Nation, except that one town. 

She heard Aang agree, “I’d love to go down and see what they have! We haven’t been to an actual city yet, I wanna see what it’s like.” 

“I think there would be some benefit in seeing how an actual Fire Nation city runs, we want to know what we could be up against in the capitol.” Sokka said. When Katara looked over, she saw him rubbing his chin, trying to stroke a beard that wasn’t there. Currently, the beard was still in their luggage and Katara hoped he would never use it again. 

“Fine,” she said, “but only because I want to see the fountain.” 

The short walk was nice, but hot. Everything here was so hot. By the time they made it to the city, it was almost sun down. Katara realized that they spent hours unpacking Appa. Did it always take that long? 

Since the sun was starting to go down, Katara felt a little relief in the slightly cooler breezes that passed her. The sun was almost orange in the sky, it was beautiful. If there was one thing that she loved about the Fire Nation, it was their sunsets. She didn’t know what it was, but they were more beautiful here than any other place on earth. Even the South Pole, where the setting sun means more than the end of the day. 

“What’s wrong with this place?” Sokka asked. There was something weird. Everywhere else they had been to came alive at night, even small towns. The shops all looked closed, the streets were starting to flood, whereas before they were empty, and there were no lights coming on from either on the street, or inside of buildings. 

Toph stilled. They almost lost her in the sudden crowd. “They all feel unhappy, but not like unhappiness from before.” She moved her feet around a little. “Something must have happened.” 

Just as she was about to open her mouth, there was a loud sound coming from the middle of the city. 

A man dressed in dark Fire Nation colors stood on a platform in the center of the town square. It was only then that she noticed that everyone was wearing dark colors, most with cloaks and hoods. 

Aang gasped, “Is- is that?” 

Katara turned around to see what it was and gasped too. “Yes, yes it is.” 

It was a painting of the royal siblings, as children. It featured an innocent looking Azula and a Zuko without a scar. It also had Ozai, Iroh, and two people she didn’t recognize. 

The announcer began to speak. 

“On this day, we celebrate the lives of our royal family,” great, just great. They definitely need people to constantly celebrate them, don’t they. “Only six years ago, Crown Prince Lu Ten, Princess Ursa, and Fire Lord Azulon perished. We mourn their loss, as well as our country’s new loss. However, we also rejoice in the knowledge that our Prince and Princess have joined their family in Agni’s light.” Wait, _what_? Katara exchanged a look with the rest of her friends, all of whom looked as horrified as she did. “Tonight, I will read the Fire Lord’s official statement, which came only this morning. ‘May our country publicly and privately mourn the horrible loss of our Prince and Princess. My honorable son, who had only just come home, my beloved daughter, and their friends were taken, tortured, and eventually killed at the hands of an unknown party. There was nothing left of them, and therefore, will not be able to receive a proper burial. While this is a trying time for our nation and myself, we cannot lose focus of the war. My children’s sacrifices will not be in vain. Fire Lord Ozai.’

“On this third night of grieving, we end our first public phase of mourning. We will hold one final memorial as the sun sets. By next morning, all public shops and schools will reopen. Work will continue, and we will keep fighting for our Prince and Princess.” 

Katara could not even believe what she was hearing. Zuko and Azula were dead? Not just dead, murdered. Kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. While she dispised them and their friends, this was not something she would even wish upon them. It almost made her sick to her stomach, no, it did make her sick to her stomach. They were all still kids, they shouldn’t have been killed.

The announcer went on with the ceremony. Katara did not listen, there was nothing she could process at that moment. All she could do was look up at the sunset. It was beautiful, like before. She wondered if Zuko and Azula thought the sun sets were pretty. She wondered if they ever stood with Mai and Ty Lee and just watched the sunset. The oranges and reds of the day mixed with the blues and purples of the nights. ‘You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun,’ he had once told her. She never would have thought those words would have any meaning to her now. But, she could only think of the boy of fire being snuffed out, a boy who’s fire could survive the snow and ice of the North Pole. It didn’t seem fair. It didn’t seem right. 

As the night slowly took over the day, she couldn’t help but feel bad for him, if only because he would miss out on this sunset. She thought of the lonely boy in Ba Sing Se. He had betrayed her, but she still felt like he was telling the truth. She didn’t think he would deceive her, she didn’t think he could. He was the best out of the main royal family, though that wasn’t saying much. 

She hoped that Agni would be kind to them. 

She hoped he would like the sunset. 

***

Zuko watched the sunset. It was beautiful. Since he got home, he would try to watch the sunset whenever he could. He had traveled to every corner of the world and he could confidently say that the Fire Nation had the best sunsets, they also had the best sunrises too. 

Their journey had not taken long- only a few days, but it was enough time for Zuko to cope with the situation he was in. He was with his sister, ex girlfriend, and her (obvious) crush. While being with Mai and Ty Le made him uncomfortable because they were flirting with each other while he was right in front of them, he felt very comfortable with them there overall. 

If Azula wanted him gone, he’d be gone. Either left behind on Ember Island, or killed and dumped overboard. In this time, he realized that Azula was probably lonely without him there for three years. Probably just as lonely as he was without her. She had Mai and Ty Lee, but soon they left and she was all alone, at least he had his Uncle. Their Uncle. It was hard for him to start changing his vocabulary now. His father wasn’t just his father, he was theirs. Same with their mother and cousin. For the longest time, everything was just his. It was nice to share it with somebody again. Ozai had tried to keep them apart, but after all this time, they were closer than they were when he left. 

Not to say that they were perfect, they weren’t. But, he was trying, and so was she. 

“Zuzu, would you stop staring at the stupid sky and help us not crash against the shore!” Azula yelled. Zuko snapped out of whatever daze he was in and tried to steer the boat so they docked safely. The boat crashed against the shore and it caused all of them to jolt forward. Zuko jumped out of the boat and pulled them in. Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula all hopped off to join him in pulling the ship onto the beach. 

“Let’s go into town,” Azula said, looking toward the city. “By the time we get there, it should be sun down, or close to it. I’ll get a room at an inn, you three just try not to mess anything up.” 

The four teens started walking to the city, putting on their cloaks. “Thanks, Azza, that was such a good pep talk.” Azula glared at him. “But a good plan,” he added. 

“I hate having to wear these dark colors, they make my aura so dingy!” Ty Lee complained as she pulled her dark hood over her hair. 

Mai helped her close the front. “I’m sure you’re aura’s doing just fine. As pink as ever.” 

Ty Lee smiled and went to hold Mai’s hand. Only their pinkies were interlocked. Zuko had the feeling they thought they were being sneaky, but they really weren’t. “Thanks, Mai. Lately, you’re aura’s been looking much brighter too.” 

Azula snorted next to him and Zuko couldn’t help but smile. Oh, they really were so obvious, but neither of them knew. 

They made their way into the city. For a second, Zuko forgot how they got here and wondered why everyone looked so dreary. They broke off from Azula in the town square. She went to an inn, they went to see the memorial. 

It was beautiful, and sad. Zuko heard the last part of the speech. He actually heard muffled cries during the service. Did people actually care about him? Were they actually upset he was dead? 

The service ended. Zuko couldn’t move, but for a moment, neither could Ty Lee or Mai. They were all distraught from watching a nation mourn over them. 

Azula called them over, he felt eyes on him as they walked, but he didn’t care to look. His father really thought he was dead. Ozai didn’t seem to care much, but his people did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think!


	3. Dark Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara deals with the funeral, Zuko tries to keep her out of his mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sorry. i wanted to post last night but i started playing among us with my friends so this didn't get done. i also haven't updated my drabble december in a day or two, so that'll be done tomorrow/later today.

“And may Agni’s light shine upon them,” the man said. 

“May Agni’s light shine upon them,” the crowd answered. By now, the sun was almost completely hidden from view. Fitting, Katara thought. But, that was probably the whole point. They did worship the sun, so it didn’t surprise her that they had their funerals at sunset. Though, this wasn’t a real funeral. She didn’t know what the Fire Nation did for their dead, but she knew it was something. The man said they didn’t get to have a proper funeral for the two because there were no bodies. 

The crowd was somber, this much was expected. But as the ceremony went on, the people seemed as though they were actually sad. It was kind of surprising. These people didn’t really know what their rulers looked like, yet they mourned them like they were their own children. 

The only portraits hanging in the square were the one with the entire royal family from when they were just children, and a more recent one that only showed Azula and Ozai. I was unnerving to see Zuko and Azula so young, but it was harder to look at the portrait of Azula more recently. It must have been taken when she was eleven or twelve. She looked to be around Aang’s age, maybe younger. Her face was round with youth, but something had changed in her between the first and second portrait. Her eyes became colder. Though her eyes were more grey, unlike Zuko and Ozai, they were sharp and held the same deadly glare. The two did not look very similar in features, but they more than made up for it in that stare. 

She almost felt bad that Zuko didn’t have a recent portrait for them to show. Sure, he was horrible to her, but still. He deserved more than an outdated picture where he wasn’t even being shown. 

They never mentioned the friends that perished with the siblings. Of course, Katara’s mind went straight to circus freak and gloomy girl, but she didn’t know if it was them. They must have had other friends right? They were royalty. Everyone was probably flocking them everywhere. 

People were starting to clear out the streets. Everything was closed. There was nowhere for people to go but home tonight. It was a day of mourning. Apparently, the last day of mourning. Then it was back to work, back to war. What kind of father only takes three days to grieve over their children. They’re only children. Who got kidnapped, tortured, and burned! It was barbaric. Obviously it was sad they died, but she also couldn’t help but feel bad for them. Their father didn’t care. And to think, Zuko betrayed her only to come back home and die before they can even have an official portrait done. How sad. 

Soon, she and her friends were some of the only people still left in the square. There were still clumps of people lighting candles and leaving small gifts for the Prince and Princess by the fountain. The hideous fountain that showed Fire Lord Ozai standing proud and tall and with out a shirt. It was very tacky, but then again, she should have expected as much from a man who named a town after him. (Seriously ‘New Ozai?’) 

She looked over at her friends, snapping out of the thoughts that had her eyes pinned on the sky line. Through the candles on the street and the now lit lanterns lining the streets, he could see the varying looks of horror and guilt on her friends faces. 

Toph looked distraught. She could probably feel the sorrow seeping out of the people on the streets. Katara could tell she was trying very hard not to cry, but there was still the shine of un-shed tears building up in her eyes. 

Sokka looked confused, and disgusted. He must be thinking something similar to her. That the Fire Lord really didn’t care about his kids. His kids who have done everything for him. Who traveled across the world at a young age just for their father. Sokka almost looked like he was gonna throw up. There was also a lost look in his light blue eyes. He didn’t seem to really understand the depth of what was happening. But, knowing him, he probably did understand, and was just thinking it was unfair. Or he was thinking about if that was him and her instead of the Prince and Princess. If Sokka and Katara were taken, their dad would have stopped at nothing to get them back. Even if he was unsuccessful, he would take more than three days to grieve over them. He would be distraught. Their father would be even more hurt than when they lost their mom. 

Aang looked the worst. There were tears steadily streaming down his face. He didn’t wipe them away either. Not as Sokka, Toph, or herself would. He let them run down his face freely. If any of them was supposed to not be upset, it should be him. They killed him, why was Aang so upset about their passing? 

But Katara knew the answer. It was because Aang put love in his heart first. Though he may not have forgiven them, he almost definitely saw potential in them that she couldn’t see. Aang would have fought tooth and nail for years to try to help them. Redemption- it’s what the avatar does.

“Don’t be too upset, Aang,” Sokka said, though he sounded very upset himself. “They were monsters. Both of them.” 

Aang turned to look at them. “Are you saying they deserved this?” his voice cracked with emotion. It was almost enough for Katara to start crying herself. 

“No, no, I would never.” Her brother gestured to the scene in front of them. “I would never say that they deserved this. No one does. But we also can’t spend all of our time thinking about them. As much as I hate to say it, I think this is a good thing, for us I mean. We no longer have two powerful fire benders and their friends hunting us. Problem solved.” Sokka’s voice went hoarse at the end of his mini speech, like even he didn’t believe what he was saying. Katara supposed he was right, in theory. They did have one less problem. She just wished their problem wasn’t solved by the assassination of four kids. 

Because that’s what they were. Kids. Zuko and Azula were only kids. 

“No, the ‘problem’ isn’t solved!” Aang said as loudly as he could. Granted, in his state, it wasn’t very loud. “If my chaukra wasn’t blocked, I’d be in the avatar state right now.” 

“Let’s not forget the reason why your chakra is blocked,” Katara said. The words came out of her mouth before she even thought them. That’s not what she actually thought, was it? 

Aang looked at her like she hit a seal dog. Toph’s face was looking through her, but there was a mix of shock and anger plastered all over it. 

Aang said, quietly, turning away, “We could have been friends. I know we could have. He wasn’t like them. He wasn’t like Zhao.” Aang went up to one of the shrines and placed kneeled in front of it. Sokka and Toph joined him. For a second, Katara was stuck there. Just thinking about everything, but nothing at all. 

“Ty Lee, get over here, now!” a voice rang out. A chilling voice that had haunted her before. It haunted her after they first met, again when she was chasing them all night, and then again after Be Sing Se. It was a voice she recognized too late last time. 

Katara whipped her head around to the direction of the voice. All she saw was three figures. The fist had nothing noticeable on them. Only a dark cloak with dark clothes underneath. Fine black hair flowed from out of the hood, but that was to be expected in the Fire Nation. Next came a flash of pink under another dark cloak. Though, the only thing that Katara could see was that brief flash of pink. 

The last figure was different. She could tell it was a man. Guy? Boy? She didn’t know what to call him. But he was a him. His cloak wasn’t black like the other two, but a dark red. Though, the darkness of the red might have been exaggerated from the dark night. His hood wasn’t pulled over his face all the way and Katara couldn’t identify what she could see. All there was to see was pale skin, dark hair, and an aristocratic profile. As the figure went with the others, he looked over his shoulder a bit. She couldn’t see the left side of his face, but she did see one bright gold eye. 

She hadn’t seen eyes that gold since- well, since Zuko. But that couldn’t have been him. Gold eyes were probably just a thing in the Fire Nation, not specific to the royal family at all. 

Still, that one gold eye gave way to more emotion than she thought she had. Her eyes spilled over with tears. She felt so, so guilty. 

Maybe if she had asked different questions in Ba Sing Se. Maybe if they had more time. Maybe if she hadn’t ran away as soon as she’d seen him. If she hadn’t ratted him out right away. Or even if she pushed Zuko away in that town and healed his Uncle anyway. Maybe he would be here right now. She saw the potential that he could have had on that one day in Ba Sing Se. If only she had pushed it further. 

She watched the figure walk away. A sob tore through her throat. Sokka quickly came over to her and helped her move to where Aang and Toph were sitting. There were staring at an unofficial portrait. 

Someone had drawn Zuko, but if he were older. They might not have known about his accident, or they didn’t care, because the left side of his face was bare. Smooth. Untouched. 

This only unraveled Katara more. 

She felt so many emotions. Anger, sadness, confusion. But, most of all, guilt. She felt oh so guilty. She felt guilty that she didn’t care enough, but felt guilty that she cared at all. This was like walking one of the tight ropes Ty Lee walked while in the circus, but Katara was never good with her balance. 

She looked up once more, hoping to see the teens, but they weren’t there. They probably never were. It was just her imagination playing tricks on her. It had happened before, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to have it be happening now. 

She hated him, hated them. But she couldn’t hate them enough. 

***

“Ty Lee get over here now!” Azula called. Zuko rolled his eyes at how annoying she could be. They just watched their own memorial and she had to go screaming. Sure, people probably wouldn’t recognize her voice, but still. What if the Fire Sage did? 

That was unlikely. This Sage probably hasn’t been to Caldera in a long time, if ever. Ty Lee skipped ahead with Mai, doing that pinky holding thing again. 

Zuko looked over his shoulder and made the move behind them, pulling his hood up as he walked. 

Suddenly, he heard a sob. Zuko turned around and saw a girl crying in the street. She was about Azula’s age. She must have been a colonial, as her skin was darker than their average citizen. Her hands were in front of her face as she cried. She couldn’t be crying over him and Azula. Sure, people pretended to care about them, but there was no way they were crying because of his death. 

What he could see in her was her hair. Her rich brown hair that flowed over her shoulders. It almost looked like- no. He wasn’t going there. He was not going there again. 

He turned to walk back to try with the rest of his friends, but he couldn’t get her out of his mind. She was kind to him when he had given her no reason to. But, no, he was not going to think about her again. 

That girl was just a colonial who had a bad day and started crying on the streets. It was no big deal. So what if Katara haunted him every day? He would never see her again. She would never  _ want _ to see him again. 

“You’re so dramatic, Zuzu,” Azula complained. “Do you really have to do the whole hood thing and look over your shoulder. Agni, brother, we’re not in one of mother’s trashy romantic plays.” She whipped her head away from him and started walking to the inn where they were staying. 

That was just rude. Also surprising, Azula never talked about their mom unless it was forced out of her. 

Mai shot him an annoyed look. “You really need to tone it down sometimes.”

Zuko rolled his eyes while Ty Lee added, “I think you should stop covering your face so much. It’ll do wonders for your aura, and your confidence.” 

“Ty Lee, we’re supposed to be dead, I don’t think my confidence is all that concerning.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“He’s right, Ty. With all that pompous royal attitude he has, I don’t think we need to worry about his confidence.” Mai said with an almost-smirk. 

Ty Lee just rolled her eyes. “You two have are the grumpiest, dingiest people I’ve ever met. It’s no wonder why you two got together.” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the closest Ty Lee will come to a temper tantrum. 

“We’re not even dating anymore, I already told you this,” said Mai. 

The former circus entertainer’s eyes widened. She looked between Mai and Zuko. “But I thought you guys would get back together, you always d-” 

“Well, not this time.” Zuko’s tone had no anger in it at all, though he snapped just enough for her to get the message. 

As much as he loved Mai and Ty Lee, he really didn’t want to watch them get all flirty with each other. Most of their ‘flirting’ was just friendly comments with a little bit of ‘wlw spice’ as Azula had once said. 

Mai would say something, Ty Lee would put a positive spin on it, or praise Mai, then she would blush and so would Ty Lee. It was sweet, but sickening. Zuko was a romantic, always had been, but there was no silver lining about this place. He couldn’t even try to move on from Mai, because they would have to be on the move all the time. 

Either way, he just rolled his eyes again (he would probably get an eye-strain or something from all the eye rolling he was doing around them) and walked right into the inn. 

It was… quaint. 

It was made almost entirely out of wood, which was just bad design for the  _ Fire _ Nation. There were two bedrooms with a connecting living room. Each room had two twin beds in it and a desk. 

The choice was pretty obvious. Mai and Ty Lee would share a room together, and Zuko would share one with his sister. 

Agni, that’s gonna be so much fun! 

“This is disgusting, but it’s all we can afford right now.” Azula stood, looking into the living room. “Normally, I’d say we should splurge, but we don’t know how long we’re gonna be dead and we can’t get real jobs. Go unpack your stuff and get to sleep. I have a few things tomorrow that I want you to do.” 

Ty Lee smiled, “Oh wha-” 

“A surprise, Ty Lee,” said Azula in a cool voice. “It’s a surprise. So get some rest.” With that, she stomped into the bedroom and went to wash up for bed. 

“This place makes me nauseous,” Mai said. 

Ty Lee, ever the optimist, answered, “Well, it could be worse. We could actually be dead. But, I don’t know, I kinda like it. It reminds me of being in the circus.”

Mai flushed, that was Zuko’s cue to leave. He plopped down on his bed, not really wanting to wait to wash up. Yes, he smelled, oh, Agni, he smelled. But the tub would still be there in the morning. He wouldn’t have to worry about the sheets, the maids would wash them. 

He was drifting off to sleep when Azula came back into the room. She looked just as pampered as when she was at the palace, it was strange. 

“Agni, Dum Dum,” she said, “At least wash your face, you look volatile.” 

He almost asked her where she even learned that word, but decided he didn’t really care. 

“Did you like the service?” he asked quietly. 

His sister looked pensive. “Yes and no. I like that we’ve been having nightly memorials since the word got around, but I think father could have been a little more generous. As far as he knows, his successor and you got killed, and all we get his three days, no offense by the way.” 

He smiled a little. “Don’t worry, none taken.” He took in a breath and asked the question he needed to ask for a while now. “Why are you doing this?” 

“You don’t know what it was like when you left,” she spoke softly, looking away from him. “You’re not the only one who’s ever been hurt by him.” 

This much he knew. Zuko knew there was no way that Ozai would lay a hand on Azula, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt. Her scars ran just as deep, but no one could see them, so no one believed her when she said they were there. 

“I didn’t like that they didn’t even have a recent portrait of me. They could have used my WANTED posters, but no. I’m a child in all of them.” 

Azula looked at him, her duller brown eyes meeting his almost yellow ones. “I want it all to burn.” 

Zuko huffed. “So do I.” 

“Don’t worry Zuko,” she said. “It will.” 

With that, Zuko moved to the bathroom to wash his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think that katara really deserved a cry. yes, we see her cry a couple of times, but she needs like a good sob. like a snotty and ugly cry. she does so much for the gaang, she deserves a good cry. 
> 
> i want to get the azula, zuko dynamic just right, so it might take a little while until i get them to have whole scenes together, who knows? 
> 
> hope you liked it!


	4. The Runaways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> crimes are committed, main characters have reactions to the deaths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you had a good christmas if you celebrate it! if not i hope you had a nice relaxing day

Katara was not easy to move. She practically had to be carried away from the shrine by Sokka. She couldn’t stop thinking. Her mind was going a mile a minute. Everything on the streets reminded her of them. A laugh reminded her of Azula. A knife in someone’s belt reminded her of the gloomy girl. A flash of pink reminded her of the circus freak, and any male that passed reminded her of Zuko. 

But, overall, she realized she needed to learn their names. 

Mainly gloomy and circus, but also she didn’t know Azula and Zuko’s last name. Did they even have one? She and Sokka didn’t because they didn’t need one in their village. Aang didn’t have one because they weren’t important and he was the avatar. But Toph had one. Granted, she hated it, but she was a noble so she had a last name. Doesn’t it work like that in the Fire Nation? What could their last name possible be? Agni? Sozin? 

When they got back to camp. Katara was exhausted, but she really couldn’t sleep. Her own guilt, mixed with the power of the moon, prevented her from getting any rest. Even laying in bed and trying to relax was incredibly difficult and stressful. 

It was high moon when she decided to stop trying to sleep tonight. There wasn’t anything that had to be done. So, mostly, she stared up at the moon. They camped too close to the city to openly practice her katas on the plateau, but she didn’t want to anyway. She just stared at the moon. Stared, and talked. 

“Yue, I don’t know what to do. I know they were terrible, no, they were the worst, but they were my age. I know they didn’t release details, but I just have the feeling that they were killed gruesomely. I don’t know. I have no idea what i’m talking about,” Katara rambled. She fell to her knees, pleading at her friend the moon spirit, “Do you know what happened? Can you tell me? Can you even talk to me at all? Yue, I need you. I know we weren’t friends that long. But you are one of my closest friends.

“Am I a bad person for feeling bad? They tried to kill Aang! I should be happy, like Sokka said. But, even Sokka didn’t seem happy. Am I horrible for not being sad enough? Please Yue, please answer me.” 

She talked to Yue for a while. She really only said the same thing over and over, but she needed to talk through what she was feeling. Katara fell asleep on her knees, hunched over. She only awoke with the sunrise, because she could no longer feel the energy of the moon. It was terrible. Normally, she slept as long as she could, but, of course, things had to get even worse. 

Her morning went as normal, but she was left alone, which was surprising. She knew that Sokka would have to find a way to get money while they were there, but she wasn’t aware that he would have to bring Toph and Aang along. 

Toph was getting on her last nerve, as always. Katara loved the girl more than anything, but Tui and La, she was annoying. When they first got Toph, Katara was excited to have another girl around, but Toph wasn’t very feminine. Which was fine, but it was infuriating sometimes. Yes, Katara mothered her, but that was because she mothered everyone. She had to. What else would they do? Without her, the team wouldn’t work. 

Katara did chores all day. She went to the river and did laundry. Usually, she would bend while doing laundry, but today, she decided to do it all by hand. It took hours, as she took her sweet time. After that, she prepared lunch for everyone, but she was the only one to eat. 

It was lonely. She never really felt lonely before. She always had someone around her. It made her feel worse to know that Sokka was gone. The longest time that she went without seeing him was when he was trapped in the spirit world. She missed him, even though it was only a few hours. 

Their relationship was strange. She would die and kill for him, but she would not wash his socks unless he paid her. Today, in order for her to wash them, he owed her big time. Something like cooking for three nights, or buying her something when they had extra money on them. 

Sighing, Katara went to brush out Appa’s fur. He roared happily at her as she untangled the knots on Appa. She talked to him occasionally, but it was mostly quiet. Everything she said to him, she had already said to Yue last night. 

Appa was a good companion. He made noises to let her know that he was listening and that he cared. She felt she could open up to him more than Yue, because she knew she was talking to someone else who was listening. 

“In the caves, even as we were fighting, he told me he changed. I mean, he definitely changed his hair and clothes and his over pompous attitude, but he didn’t actually change. At the end of the day, he still chose Azula. The worst part is, I don’t know if I can blame him for that. If I was separated from Sokka for that long, I would take any opportunity to see him again, I mean he’s my brother.”

Appa groaned. 

“Yeah, that’s true. I don’t think they have the same relationship as me and Sokka. I don’t think we would have fought each other in that town.” 

She brushed until it was time to start making dinner. She made enough for all four of them again, but recognized she might be the only one who would be there to have it. 

She was stirring some stew in their only pot when she heard heavy footsteps. At first, she tensed, but she realized the only ones that would even know she was there would be her friends. 

They threw down a bunch of baskets and bundles of cash. 

“Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?” She asked as she picked up one of the baskets and looked through the blankets piled up in it. 

Aang perked up and went over to her. “Toph got us money. She scammed one of those guys in town who moves the shells around all sneaky-like.” She was glad that Aang was in a better mood after last night. He didn’t need to think about the death of the Prince and Princess.

“She used earthbending to win the game! Classic!”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Ah, so she cheated,” she said. She was obviously not happy with the way they got this money. 

“Hey! I only cheated because he was cheating! [ _ Smiles. _ ] I cheated a cheater.” She leaned back on an earth chair she made herself. “What's wrong with that?”

“I'm just saying this isn't something we should make a habit of doing,” she huffed. Sure, she stole a scroll, but that was different. She didn’t just do it for fun, she did it for Aang. Yeah, she happened to also benefit from it, but it was for Aang. 

Toph scowled. “Why? Because it's fun? And you hate fun?”

“I don't hate fun!” In her delirious and tired state, the only thing she could think of doing was picking up Momo and putting him on her head. “See? Fun!”

“Katara,” Aang said, showing her his tattoo, “I'll personally make you an Avatar Promise that we won't make a habit of doing these scams.”

She didn’t know what an ‘Avatar Promise’ was, but she assumed that whatever it was, it was a bunch of bullshit. 

Katara went back to stirring her stew. The rest of the night was not terrible, but it wasn’t great. 

“So,” Sokka said, “the town’s back up and running. Everything was open. They haven’t taken down the posters and there are shrines everywhere, but at least we can blend in by wearing cloaks, so it kinda works in our favor.” 

Aang snapped and stood up. “How could you say that? Zuko might have worked against us, but he was still a person. And so were Azula and their friends. They weren’t good, but they were better than that. I don’t care if it didn’t ‘work in our favor!’ They’re still kids. We probably could’ve been friends!” 

“Friends?” Toph asked. 

“Yeah, friends.” 

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Sokka asked. “You wanted to be  _ friends _ with them? Yeah, they’re people and all, but they were still monsters. You can be sad all you want to, I’m not gonna stop you, but don’t pretend like they’re people they weren’t.” 

Sokka and Aang huffed and went to bed, Sokka bringing his dinner along with them. Toph and Katara were left by the small fire she made. 

“So, did you wan-” 

“Stuff it Sugar Queen,” Toph said as she stormed into her earth tent. 

Katara growled. Today was not a good day. 

***

Zuko had walked around the market a bit the next day. Now that everything was open, he enjoyed being in the City. Of course. He didn’t want to go out a whole lot during the day. He highly doubted that anyone would put two and two together about his appearance, but he did not want to take that chance. 

He was walking in the main square, feeling the energy of all the candles that were lit. It was strange to have this much power after the sun went down. 

He went over to one of the shrines. It had a picture that wasn’t featured in any of the other shrines. When he got closer, he realized what it was. It was a picture of him. Or, what he should be. 

His face was smooth. Not a single blemish, scar or otherwise. He was clean shaven, something that was common among Fire Nation youths. His hair was longer, it went down to almost his shoulders. The top part of his hair was pulled into a top knot while the rest of his hair was loose around his head. 

It was a lot like how he looked when he came back. It was an accurate portrait overall, but there were some key mistakes. He looked older than he was. His hair was almost the same color as Ty Lee’s. He was broad as well. Zuko was very fit, he had to be. But he didn’t eat much when he got home. He was muscley, yes, but not in a good way. Not like that. 

But, seeing himself without the scar was too much. He looked almost exactly like his father and nothing like his mother. 

It unraveled him. 

Tears stung his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Not until he was back in his hotel room at least. 

Zuko had ripped the portrait out of the shrine. In his tightened fist, the parchment crumpled, but did not rip. He stomped his way through the city, causing more commotion than he wished, but not not caring that he did so. He ripped open the door of their room at the inn. 

Of course he had walked in on some kind of heart to heart between Ty Lee and Mai. He knew, of course, that it wasn’t his fault they never had a heart to heart, he had tried, but it still stung to see Mai so willingly talk about her feelings with Ty Lee. 

“Zuko what’s wrong?” Ty Lee asked. There was real concern in her voice and it made him furious. 

Mai looked at him incredulously, “Are you cr-”

He shoved the paper into Ty Lee’s chest and rushed into his room. Slamming the door behind him, he pressed his body into the wall and slid down it. He felt like a child throwing a temper tantrum but he didn’t care. He could spend his entire life trying to escape his father’s image, but he would never grow out of it. People would always see him as his father’s son. They would always see his father in him. It burned more than his scar. 

Ty Lee’s gasp was muffled by the wall separating them. He wasn’t sure if she was gasping at the picture, or Zuko’s reaction to it. 

He faintly heard some talking, but he wasn’t paying attention to it. He just couldn’t get the picture out of his head. 

“You always were a crybaby,” Azula said. He hadn’t even heard her open the door and he was pretty sure he was in here by himself when he got there. 

He growled, “Shut up, Azza.” 

He could practically hear her eye roll. 

“I look like  _ him _ , Azula.” His voice cracked. “No matter how much I try, I’ll always look like him.” 

Azula hummed, “I don’t know, Zuzu, he made it pretty hard for you to ever really look like him.” 

“But that’s all that people will ever see.” 

“Maybe,” she agreed. “But there are worse people you could look like.” 

Zuko scoffed, “Oh yeah, like who?” 

She paused for a moment, moving to sit next to him. “Like Zhao.” 

Zuko chuckled. “He was the worst.” 

“Wasn’t he?” He could feel her gaze on him, though he did not dare to look at her. “To be honest, your entire ship and everyone at the North Pole were completely useless. The boy hadn’t even learned how to waterbend yet and they still couldn’t get him.” 

“You didn’t fare much better,” he pointed out. 

Azula laughed bitterly, “I guess I didn’t.” A pause. “I know he’s alive, you know.” 

“And we’re the ones who are dead.” 

“I suppose we are,” she said with an actual chuckle. 

Zuko finally looked at her, she was wearing peasant clothes. He never imagined her stooping so low, but he didn’t mind the change it brought. As she was ‘without honor’ as a poor citizen, her hair was in a phoenix tail. It was a welcome sight. 

“Since you decided to sulk, I decided to move my surprise until tomorrow morning. Or, mid day for us, morning for them,” she said, pointing to the non benders behind the door. “I think you should rest, Zuzu. For once in your life, you’ve earned it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> azula to the artist of that drawing: you ruined a perfectly fine prince, now look at him, he has anxiety 
> 
> would you guys like shorter chapters coming out every 2-3 days, or longer chapters that take about a week?
> 
> let me know how you liked it 
> 
> follow me on tumblr @strawberrymilkyumyum


	5. Bandits and Thieves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the blind bandit does her thing and azula's surprise is carried out. katara still feels guilty about the fire siblings' death but decides to try to forget about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i'm gonna go with a weekly update instead of every few days and i guess tuesday is now that day   
> and thank you for 1000 hits!!  
> enjoy!

In the three days that they’ve been in this stupid city, Toph has managed to scam people every single day. The earth bender was taking advantage of people’s grief over the royal siblings and had made them rich. Katara wasn’t complaining about the money, Yue knows they could use it, but stealing was wrong. Okay, yes, she stole from pirates, but it wasn’t their scroll to begin with! 

Katara grinded her teeth as she moved to the river. She had had it with Toph and needed to be surrounded in her element. She stomped to the rocky shoreline and took off her shoes and any extra clothing that would weigh her down. She made an air bubble, because those were good for her to sulk in. 

She sank with the air bubble to the bottom of the river and sat there. She wasn’t into meditation, but sitting in silence helped her. Katara hated to admit it, but she was kind of thankful that Toph decided to pull some scams, because at least now she wasn’t thinking so much about Zuko. 

Zuko. Ugh, why did she have to think about him again? She had gone through every possible scenario of how she could’ve made him choose he- them, the gang, team avatar, not her specifically. As much as she hated to admit it, she thought about what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted in the cave. Remembering the way his breath hit her face when she touched his scar, she probably would have kissed him. Maybe she could’ve helped him. Maybe with her, he would have become softer. Like an actual boy, how he looked in Ba Sing Se. 

She had enough. She needed to find Toph again so that she could be annoyed into forgetting about him again. Him and his sister who was her age and had to be without her brother for a long time. 

Sighing as the bubble popped, Katara swam silently over to where she heard Toph’s voice. 

“So lemme guess: You brought me out here to tell me that your sister's not as annoying as I make her out to be.” Her pan was already working. Just by hearing Toph’s voice, she was already irritated. 

“Nah, she's pretty much a pain,” Sokka said. Wait, Sokka? “She's always got to be right about everything and she gets all bossy and involved and in your business” Wow, love you too Sokka. 

Toph sighed, “Yeah. I don't know how you could deal with it.”

“Actually, in a way, I rely on it. ”

Wait, what?

“I don't understand,” said Toph. Katara didn’t understand either. 

“I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like.” Katara’s eyes went wide. Katara could remember their mother’s face, but, she realized, she only really remembered it from the day she died. When thinking of other memories, Katara just filled in the blanks. “It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. ” While Sokka’s voice was dripping with nonchalance, Katara knew this was a hard speech for him to make. Talking about their mother was always really hard for him. For the longest time, she resented her family for not talking about Kya, but, in the end, she realized that it was harder for them to talk about her. So, she talked to Bato for a couple years. He knew her but was able to talk about her and it made her feel safe. Sokka never got that. 

Toph may not have known how big a deal it was for Sokka to be talking about their mother, but she seemed to understand the gravity of his words. “The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. You know, the real me.” Toph said. Katara started tearing up and dove back into the water. “That's more than my own mom.Don't ever tell her I said any of this!”

“Hey, my lips are sealed.”

Katara came out of the river on the verge of a breakdown. She was hyperventilating and tears threatened to spill over her eyes. After slipping on her shoes, getting redressed, and bending the water from her, she fell onto the rocks and cried. 

How was this even happening? Why was she crying? She never cried? Not once had she cried when they were escaping Zuko? But now she keeps crying!!

It was an ugly cry too. One where there’s snot and tears everywhere and she can’t tell the difference. One where all she knows is letting go. 

But, because she’s such a responsible person, she forces herself to stop crying about five minutes in. They simply do not have time for this. Sokka has them scheduled to take off tomorrow, leaving this terrible, terrible city behind. Hopefully, they won’t have to deal with this grief period. Not that she’s unsympathetic, she just can’t take it. 

Being the girl she was, Katara wipes her tears out of her eyes and clears her face with her bending. She climbs up to the camp, ready to face Toph. 

A very important decision was reached after she heard Toph confess to her brother. She would try to be a little more like her. They weren’t so different, but she knew Toph would respond better to her in the future if they did something fun together. Also- she was just really sad and wanted to do something fun for once. 

The blind girl was sitting on an earth chair next to the water Katara had set to boil for lunch before she had stormed off. 

It was now or never, so Katara said, “Hi, Toph. Um, I wanna-”

“Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. “ Toph said. “I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them.”

She felt almost relieved that Toph didn’t want an apology. “Actually I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say ... I wanna pull a scam with you.”

“What?  _ You _ wanna pull a scam?” Toph shrieked. 

“Not just any scam. The  _ ultimate _ scam.” She could feel Aang and Sokka staring at her. “Whaddaya say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?”

Toph clapped her hands together. “Hell yeah, you  _ know _ I'm in! Now what's this idea of yours?”

The pair walked away from her brother and the avatar, leaving them in complete shock. It was kinda funny, but also irksome. Katara could have fun! She could be cool!

Katara sat them down, looking over the edge of the city. She only thought about how much she hated the man who had his statue up one. “The plan is simple: This wanted poster says you're worth a lot of money; Ten times more than you've made in all of your scams. So I'm gonna turn you in and collect the reward. Then you metalbend yourself out of jail, and we're on our way.”

Toph grinned and said, “You’re crazy, Sugar Queen. I love it!”

Katara smiled to herself as she got ready to put the plan in action. They were going to go down right after she started making dinner so that way it would be done by the time they got back. Ever since she arranged for them to pull a scam, Toph had been much happier around her and in general. It brought a smile to her face just thinking about it. The two girls got along, but this was the first time since Ba Sing Se where they really got to  _ enjoy _ spending time together. 

Toph was  _ not _ ‘one of the girls’, but Katara thought that was okay. 

She looked up when she heard a crash and saw Aang dodge a huge rock headed his way. This, of course, caused Toph to start cackling like an idiot. 

“Twinkle toes, I’ve told you a million times to stop dodging the rocks. Next time you do that, I’m gonna keep throwing them at you until you finally move one!” Toph screamed. Most of the time, Aang was pretty good with his earth bending, but, now, he was kinda off his game. Katara didn’t blame him or anything. With everything going on, they were all a little bit off. 

Sokka walked over to her as she cut up some vegetables for the stew she was going to make. “So, how have you been doing?” he said. Real smooth, Sokka. 

“I’m fine,” she answered shortly. Katara loved her brother, but she did not want to talk about her feelings right now. 

Sokka cocked his head at her. “Are you really?” She opened her mouth but was interrupted. “No, no, no. I'm serious, Katara. Since we’ve gotten here you’ve gotten really sad. I know you stole from the pirates, but pulling a scam is why different and not like you at all. Does it have something to do with missing Dad, or do you really just feel that guilty?” His tone was soft yet demanding. She knew she couldn’t avoid it any longer. 

She sighed, “I do miss Dad, a lot, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about hi- them. This is about them. I thought I could help him, I almost did, and now they’re gone. I know I should be happy. We’re in the war and two of the Fire Nation’s best players died, but they were our age. Clearly their father doesn’t really care. I’m just upset because, if that were us, Dad would have mourned us for months, maybe years. We would get more than three days. And, even though he made the wrong choice in Ba Sing Se, he wanted to be with her again. They’re siblings. I would want to be with you, even if you were crazy.” She reached out and held onto Sokka’s hand. He squeezed it in a comforting gesture. 

“You can’t say his name can you?” 

“No,” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears, a lone drop fell down her cheeks. “No, I can’t.” 

She thought Sokka would just forget about it. Not that he was uncaring, but their tribe raised him to think emotions were better suited for women. Instead, he pulled her in the warmest polar dog hug she’s ever had. Her face was pushed into his shoulder as she willed her tears not to fall. His arms encased her in a way that was an awful lot like how her dad held her when they had gotten into a fight on the ship. Everything was right. 

Talking to Sokka was the most effective thing so far. Now that she had spoken to her brother, she felt like she could finally move on. And do the scam in peace. 

She walked with Toph to the center of town. The silence was more welcome than words. Katara knew she wasn’t very good with small talk, nor was Toph. There was a plan and now they had to put it in motion. That was it. But that still didn’t stop the small smile she wore as her covered feet hit the dirt in time with Toph’s bare ones. 

It was moments like these that Katara could understand Toph’s love for her element. Earth was in every direction for miles. It held the life that water sustained. It grew life in ways water could not. Even fire depended on earth, as without earth, nothing would burn. Air, earth’s natural opposite, complimented her in every way. It was, she thought, the reason her and Aang were such good friends. Aang tended to shy away from things, while Toph stood her ground. She got Aang to open up to new possibilities and talk about why he was having trouble. And, in turn, Aang helped Toph become more light hearted. Katara didn’t expect a relationship out of them, at least not anytime soon. They were only twelve and were adjusting to a whole new life. They needed each other. 

Her smile fell a bit as she thought about her natural opposite. Their moment in the cave together might play in her head for the rest of her life, but she was starting to accept that his death wasn’t her fault. She had always known that, logically, but she was always told she cared too much and now she was starting to believe it. 

“You okay, Sweetness?” Toph asked, picking up the change in mood with her earth bending. She must be feeling better because ‘Sweetness’ is usually her nicer nickname. 

Katara took a deep breath and shook off the emotions that went through her. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the whole truth. She figured Toph could tell which is why she didn’t push conversation further. 

Only she did, a few moments later. 

“I know that this is probably really hard for you, to trust Zuko, have him turn against you, and then die a couple weeks later. You’ve always really cared about others, and it’s really nice, but it’s also exhausting for you. That’s why I’m glad we’re doing this together. You need to relax and have fun for once.” Toph said. Her cheeks colored a little bit, probably uncomfortable with talking about emotions to her. 

Katara grabbed Toph’s hand and stopped walking. “Thank you, Toph. I do enjoy spending time with you.” THey started walking again. “I was always supposed to just hate him. But after I saw him again in Ba Sing Se, I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to hate him more than anything, but it wasn’t working. He talked about his family and it made him seem almost good.”

“He  _ was _ good Katara,” Toph said. “Okay, maybe not normal-people good, but he was kinda good. I had a conversation with his Uncle while you guys were getting your butt kicked in that crappy town. He told me Zuko was very hurt and confused. He wanted to be good, but he wasn’t sure what that meant anymore. I know that doesn’t change the things he did, but he was trying. I think he could’ve gotten to the right place.”

“Thanks, Toph,” Katara said, throat dry. 

“Don’t mention it,” Toph said, punching Katara on the shoulder. 

***

Zuko stumbled out of the tiny shower in their room at the inn. It was dingy and kinda disgusting, but it was all they had. Once again, Zuko thought he was weak for not adjusting to this life easier, as he was a refugee not too long ago. 

“You take forever in the shower,” Mai grumbled as she pushed passed him in order to get herself ready for the day. 

Zuko and Azula had done their training in the early morning, going out to the edge of the city to be alone. There wasn’t anyone else up at that time, but he did notice a little camp not too far away from where they practiced. They trained for a couple of hours, until they heard shuffling from said campsite. They didn’t want to be spotted by anyone that didn’t have to see them. 

Zuko trained surprisingly well with his sister. They were both competitive and would work until the other gave up. But, neither of them ever gave up. Training for the past couple of days had only ended because they were interrupted, definitely not because he couldn’t keep going or anything. 

“Dum Dum,” Azula would chide, “your arms are wrong like they always are. Move them like this. Bolder lines. Good. Keep going. There you go. Don’t make the same mistake again.” 

“Azza,” Zuko would smugly say, “That form is good, but it’s not very practical. Try something like this instead. No, not so rigid. More flowy, like the dance classes we had to take as kids. Yes, I know it’s been years just doing it. Oh Agni, just do the damn form.” 

Azula’s surprise had not yet come, but Zuko suspected it would be coming soon. Both days that Azula had said they’d do something, Ty Lee and Mai ended up wanting to go explore the city. Admittedly, it was nice, but Zuko just wanted Azula to do her thing so they could move on. Staying in one place this long could be dangerous. 

“Sorry about her, she’s just grumpy,” Ty Lee said. She had gotten ready first, having done so while Azula was training with Zuko. “She didn’t sleep very well last night. We’re not very used to beds so…”  _ Poor?  _ He wanted to say.  _ Cheap? Humble? _ “uncomfortable,” she finished. 

“I thought you guys camped out while you were separated from the drill.” he said, using the towel to dry out some of this hair. 

“Oh we did,” she said. “But only for a couple nights, and even then, our bedrolls were really nice.” 

Zuko put the towel around his shoulders, humming in agreement, though there wasn’t anything for him to really agree to. 

“Is this what it was like for you? In the Earth Kingdom? When you were alone?” Ty Lee asked. While she didn’t know that he really was alone for a long time, she knew that he was by himself with Iroh in the Earth Kingdom. It still hurt to hear coming from her. But he figured it might be easier to talk about it in the long run. 

He took a deep breath and began. “When I was by myself in the Earth Kingdom, things were a lot harder, but this is about what it was like when I was in Ba Sing Se. Of course, I had an actual life in Ba Sing Se. I had a good job and everything. It was a lot safer too. We had beds, but they were about as comfortable as these are. I was ready to spend the rest of my life there if I had to.”

She tilted her head, “Were you ever… not with him?” 

“Yes,” Zuko answered. “I needed answers, answers I needed to get on my own. I traveled through town to town looking for them. I got the answers I was looking for, I just haven’t been able to put everything together until recently. They taught us- they taught us that the Fire Nation was great. That we were sharing our greatness with the world. But they don’t want our ‘help,’ they hate us. And we deserve it. All my father has ever wanted was death and destruction. For a while, I thought I could just wait it out and end the war when I was in power. But I couldn’t wait, The world doesn’t have time. 

“The people in those villages, they starved and fought and never gave up. Families were torn apart to fight in the war. Children were orphaned, parents left childless, it’s not fair. I starved just as much as they did. I tried to help them as the Prince, but they didn’t want it. I gave the last food I had to children without homes. I fought militias who wanted to bully others for their own pleasure. I walked until my knees gave out and crawled until I had enough energy to walk again. By the time I got to Ba Sing Se, I had a coating of dirt on me that was two inches thick I-” 

“Okay I’m out,” Mai said. Zuko glared at her in irritation. Yes, he was going on longer than he had to, but he was still no where close to the end. 

Mai sat down beside Ty Lee on the couch. The two girls seemed to speak to each other without actually saying any words. Ty Lee gave Mai wide eyes and a weird frown. Mai looked between the gymnast and him then looked back to Ty Lee. For a moment, her own eyes widened in recognition, but that expression was turned into an eye roll. 

Mai sighed, “Sorry for interrupting something, but Azula really wants to get going. You guys wasted most of the day with your training and that stupid mad war? You guys weren’t even like that as kids.” 

Ty Lee looked at her sternly. 

“Okay, yes, I’m happy that you guys are getting along, but there’s mud all over the floors right now.” 

Zuko looked at the pair with curious eyes. He knew they had something going on, but he didn’t really realize that they were this close, that they could communicate through eye contact. He had never been like that with Mai or anyone else. It was strange, but, whatever this was, it suited the both of them. 

“Thank you for saying that, Mai,” he said, showing a lopsided smile. 

Mai smiled in return. 

“Okay, now that we’re done with that,” Azula said, throwing the door open. “It’s time to go, I have been waiting for the past three days to do this and we will  _ not _ get sidetracked again. I need you all to promise me you won’t get sidetracked.”

“Promise,” Mai said flippantly. 

“Promise,” Zuko agreed. 

Ty Lee looked down at her lap, probably embarrassed that she had been the one to sidetrack then, “Promise.”

“Excellent.” Azula said. “Get up, let’s go.” 

They walked into the townsquare. It was still covered in shrines from the memorial, but there were few people around to actually admire them. Mai hadn’t been kidding about the juvenile mud fight that Zuko had with his sister, it did take up too much time, seeing as it was now mid afternoon. 

They strolled through the streets with their cloaks on. It wasn’t a bad cover, as many citizens tht they passed also wore similar garments. The warm rays of Agni sunk into his skin as Zuko and his friends walked to the hideous statue of Ozai himself.

“Agni, that thing is so tacky,” he said. Azula and Mai were on his left and Ty Lee on his right. No one in the town knew this, but with all of them together, they had quickly become a well oiled and lethal machine. 

Azula snorted next to him, “Father was always incredibly tacky. He was the only one who actually liked those stupid plays on Ember Island.” 

Zuko turned to her with a raised eyebrow, “I thought mother liked those plays.” 

“Mother liked theater,” said said, shaking her head, “but those plays were not theater. She hated them as much as we did, but she missed seeing actually good theater.” 

Zuko turned to look at the statue again. He knew that Azula was always very observant, but he never thought he would remember so much about their mother, she was only 8 when she disappeared. 

“Anyway,” she said, clearing her throat, “I want you and Ty Lee to gather all of the portraits that you can find of us over on your side of the town, and Mai and I will do the same here.” 

“How far do you want us to go?” Ty Lee asked. 

“Let’s say, around the main market. I don’t want to take anything from people’s homes. Public areas only, but make it quick, we’re losing sunlight.” With that, Azula turned to find any portraits, bringing Mai with her. 

Taking her queue, Ty Lee took Zuko’s hand and pulled him along with her. They scoured the downtown area, picking up any picture with his or his sister’s face on it. Sometimes there was no one around to claim the picture, other times they had to ‘liberate’ it. 

He talked with Ty Lee, or really, she talked with him. She knew he was never much of a talker and she had already gotten a lot out of him that day. Ty Lee told him all about the circus and about the first girlfriend and boyfriend he had, both of which only lasted a couple of weeks. She updated him on her sisters, all of which were doing the exact same thing and doing fine. She expressed to him her anger with them sometimes. She was the only one who was different and she had gotten further with her political career than any of them because she was friends with Azula. They were all planning on marrying into a wealthier family than their own, but Ty Lee didn’t want that. She wanted to marry the person she loved. 

“That wouldn’t happen to be a certain knife thrower would it?” Zuko asked with a small smile. 

Ty Lee just blushed and kept her head down. 

When they finally met up with Azula and Mai, all four of them had their hands full of canvases and scrolls. The sun was close to being set and the only other people in the square were surrounding too young girls who looked like they were gonna start a duel. 

“How could you do this to me? You betrayed me!” A short figure said with hair covering their eyes. 

“You brought this on yourself. I had no choice.” The girl who had spoken was the same girl he had fought against a thousand times, and had even fought with once. She offered healing and strength. She really was alive and okay after the battle and  _ she was here _ . 

“That looks like-”

“It is.”

“Mai, Ty Lee, put everything in a pile and wait for us. Come on big brother, we have something to take care of.”

***

Katara had been thrown in the prison herself, for what reason, she didn’t know. Toph couldn’t bend in here because everything was made out of wood. There wasn’t any water, in liquid form or in the wood. They were stuck. But she was sweating. If she sweat enough she could think of a plan to use that sweat to get out of there. 

Before she could get up to start working up more of a sweat, one of the doors creaked open. Two figures were bathed in shadow as the only light in the room was coming from behind their backs. 

“Bail’s paid,” said the officer that locked them up unjustly. Okay, so maybe it was justice for Toph, but not for Katara!

The figures stepped closer. Katara couldn’t see their faces in the dark room. But Toph, who had been complaining loudly beforehand, went quiet. 

“Why did you bail us out?” Katara asked. “Why would you do that for us?” 

Twin flames sprouted from the two people’s hands. One was so warm and welcoming, a golden color that reminded her of the sunset and even the sun itself. The other was blue like her own eyes and- wait blue? Only one person she knew could create blue fire. But it wasn’t possible! She- she was-

Standing right in front of her with a smirk as terrifying as ever. 

“Because, peasant,” Azula said with playful power in her voice, “we want the same thing.” 

“Don’t call her a peasant.” Katara’s eyes shot up to the other figure. There he was. His face painted gold with the light of his own flame. His eyes were brighter than stars. Even his hair was way better than before. The way he looked at her filled her with something she could not name. She felt angry at him, confused by his appearance, but mostly happy he was alive and relieved he wasn’t tortured. “She’s not a peasant, she never has been.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i want to clarify one thing: i did not put mailee in the story to get mai out of the way for zutara. mailee is here bc it's a great ship that i really like and in the story, even zuko likes the idea of two of his best friends being together. this will become more clear in the story at a later date but right now, i just wanted everyone to know that mailee isn't here just so that mai can be in a different relationship
> 
> also, yes, i think ozai liked the ember island players. that entire family is just bunch of theater nerds but ozai is the worst and most tacky
> 
> follow me on tumblr for more @strawberrymilkyumyum


	6. Treason’s a Great Bonding Technique

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are made, everyone is confused, what's even happening anymore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: language, blood, injury  
> i hope you all had a good week and i hope anyone in the DC area stays safe <33  
> i think this one is kinda all over the place. i need to get better at pacing, but enjoy!

“Zuko?” Katara said. It was breathy and not at all like how her voice sounded. Toph was having a field day behind her but she didn’t care enough to look at her. He was here. He was here, why was he here? 

His golden eyes pierced her soul. Normally, she would have rolled her eyes and scolded him for making such a remark, but she couldn’t. He looked at her with respect and honesty, but wasn’t going to accept anything in return, but that was fine with her. He didn’t deserve such praise even if she was okay with receiving it from him. 

Azula grabbed her shirt and pulled her closer, crushing Katara against the bars. “You can not say his name out loud. I wanted to get you out of here for your own good, but if you keep yapping like that all day you’re going to  _ ruin _ everything. You will  _ not _ say our names out loud, do you understand.” Her voice had started out fast but had gotten slower. Katara felt like Azula thought she was dumb. But then again, isn’t that what they teach students? That Water Tribe people are stupid? 

“Azula,” Zuko whispered urgently.

Katara said, “Yes, I understand,” and was let go. She stumbled backwards into Toph. 

“What do you want from us?” Toph asked. She stood tall and crossed her arms, clearly trying to intimidate. 

“Who says we want anything?” Azula answered, wearing a similar pose, one that was much scarier than anything the earth bender could do. 

“Whatever,” Zuko said, sliding a hand over his face. “We don’t have time for this pissing contest. Just let them out.”

Azula rolled her eyes but went to do so. “Anything you say, brother.” 

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, “Don’t give me that.”

Azula let them out of the cell and they made their way out of the jail. 

On the way, Toph grabbed Katara’s arm. “We should see where they’re going, see what they’re up to. I know they’re together, but we can take them, even if we’ll have to book it afterwards.” 

“We can hear you, you know,” Zuko snapped. 

“And that won’t be necessary,” Azula purred. “We aren’t here to hurt you or get in the way, we do want the same thing, for once.” 

They walked out of the prison part of the jail. “Oh, really? I don’t think we wanted death and destruction.” Katara snapped. 

Azula just chuckled. “Zuzu, get ahold of your waterbender, she’s being feisty.” 

“She’s not my waterbender,” Zuko sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Of course, of course,” Azula teased. “But I’m not the one you have to convince. I’m sure your  _ lover _ would be thrilled to have her around!” 

“Hey!” Zuko snapped, “Keep her out of this.”

Katara didn’t know what to feel about all of this. Azula was cryptic and annoying like always and Zuko was being a hot head, but something had changed. There was less bite to Zuko’s snaps and Azula’s teasing wasn’t meant to hurt. She also didn’t know how to feel about Zuko’s  _ lover _ . 

Toph grabbed a hold on her arm as they made their way out of the building. 

“What’s wrong Toph,” she said. 

All the girl did was hold on tighter. “Everything’s made of wood. I can’t see,” the blind earth bender said. Seeing usually wasn’t a problem as they usually walked on dirt or stone. She could even see in the sand, though it was very fuzzy. Being trapped in a wooden cell was probably a lot harder for her than Katara had thought. So, Katara pulled her closer and helped guide her through the hallways. 

“You’re blind you can’t  _ see _ anything,” Azula said. “But maybe you can find a new friend Dum Dum! Blind people flock together don’t they?” She teased, pushing her brother away from her. It was an odd show of affection. 

A few months ago, Katara knew Zuko would resort to violence if someone shoved him, but all he did was run a hand through his hair and roll his eyes saying, “I’m not fully blind, and that doesn’t even make sense. _And_ it’s only on one side. You’re just mad that I can still use my left side better than you.” 

Zuko… was blind? Or had really bad eyesight on his left side. It made sense, the scar was right around his eye, damaging his lid to be squinted shut. But Katara had never really thought about it before. He never gave any indication that he had anything impared on his left side. It made Katara wonder how well he could hear out of the small, mangled ear on his left side. She also wondered why his ear was so small. Did the burn shrink it somehow? Is that something a burn can even do? 

Azula let out a surprisingly genuine laugh, “Oh please, like I’d even need to have my left side so covered. Unlike you I’m so not dishonorable as to use a  _ weapon _ !” she pretended to gag, causing a chuckle from Zuko. She cleared her throat and made her voice lower and raspy, covering her left eye, “I must learn how to swords because I saw a cool play where the main character learned how to use swords.” 

Zuko barked out a single sharp laugh and pulled Azula’s hand down, “That’s not what happened and you know it!” 

Katara moved her face close to Toph’s ears and whispered as quietly as she could, “I don’t like this. This is really weird.”

“We’re still right here,” Zuko said sternly, turning to her. 

Azula’s tone also went cold. “I’m so terribly sorry that we’ve been a bother to you. We could’ve let you rot in that cell for Agni knows how long, but we decided to be  _ nice _ .” 

“Whatever,” Toph mumbled. 

Azula hummed in response. 

Zuko opened the door and held it open for all of them to exit. The sky was a mix of bright oranges and reds. Sunsets were really amazing in the Fire Nation, Katara thought. She didn’t dwell on it though. The last time she did, she was wondering if Zuko would appreciate his funeral. She didn’t want to think about that now. 

When Zuko didn’t join them again, she thought it was a trap, but no. Then Azula turned around and stormed off to stand right in front of him. 

Zuko was just staring. Staring at the sunset that Katara was just focused on. Azula whispered something to him, that was probably a death threat, and Zuko snapped out of whatever daze he was in. 

“Sorry,” he said, making eye contact with her for a split second. “It was just really pretty.” 

Azula just groaned and pulled him along with her. It was quite an amusing sight. Since Azula was shorter than Zuko and both siblings were clearly annoyed, it looked like a Kuruk era painting. 

They should probably get out of there, leave while they have the chance. Azula and Zuko would never catch up! Okay, they would because they somehow always do, but it could still buy them some time. But, looking at the expression on Toph’s face, she knew they had to stay, if only to find out what they were doing and maybe get a laugh or two in at their expense. 

The siblings stormed into the center of the town square. Where their two friends were waiting for them. One was perky in pink and the other gloomy in black and dark reds. The latter held a few bags in her hand, while there was another next to the former’s feet. 

When Gloomy looked at the siblings, Katara gasped. It was their friend from Omashu, the other one had to be the acrobat. Her brown gaze pierced through the siblings. Katara found herself lucky that she was not the one receiving said look and couldn’t understand how neither sibling seemed to care that their friend looked like she was about to kill them. 

“Took you guys long enough,” she said with a bored rasp. 

“We’re terribly sorry, Mai. We had to get Dum Dum’s lady love out of jail,” Azula teased. “Try not to be too jealous Mai.”

A snort came from Zuko as Mai rolled her eyes, “Oh please. I was never the jealous one.” 

Zuko made an offended noise. 

“No she’s right,” the pink one said. “You do get jealous sometimes. Do you remember that party we went to? You burned the house down. Your aura was so gray the entire time.” 

Zuko started defending himself. “Okay,  _ we _ burned the house down, it wasn’t just me. It was a  _ team effort _ . Also, that was one time, Ty.” 

“It was last week.” 

“That’s still one time!” 

“Okay, as much as I’d love to continue this conversation, we need to get going.” Azula looked over at Mai and Ty. “Did you get everything?” 

“With time to spare,” Mai answered. 

“Excellent.” Azula walked over to the hideous rendition of the Fire Lord. Katara was unsure if that actually looked like him, but either way, it was a monstrosity. The bender twirled around to them, “Okay, are you too staying or will we find you later.” 

Katara tried to form a sentence in her throat. 

“We’re staying,” Toph answered before she could disagree. 

“Yay!” Ty squealed. “I’m so excited to see what they do.” 

“You know what we’re doing. We’re fire benders, what else would we do?” Zuko stated. 

Ty shrugged, 

“Wait,” Katara said. “What are you doing? Are you guys  _ burning _ all of this?” 

“The portraits, the statue, all of it,” Azula said.

“How do you burn a statue?” Mai asked. 

Azula huffed, “Okay fine we’ll melt it. It can’t look any worse than it already does.” 

Zuko snorted at what should’ve been a mean comment that a normal brother would disapprove of. 

“It’s so fucking ugly,” he said. “The sculptor really made him look more like a goat than normal.” 

Azula made a sound close to a giggle. “Grandfather would never do this.” 

“Grandfather  _ did _ do this,” he said. His smile was lopsided. It suited him. If he wasn’t the Prince of the Fire Nation, she might even say he looked cute. “What do you think the Gates of Azulon are.” 

“They’re part of our security system, Dum Dum,” Azula replied. “Fire Lord Azulon constructed the gates a few years into his reign after great-grandfather Sozin died. Agni, it’s like you don’t know basic history. Anyways, Azulon would never just put up something like this for show. He had some class.” 

“Sure, let’s say he did.” 

Katara was still thinking about how they said they burned down someone’s house. This was a very odd bunch. They were all just… getting along, as if the siblings didn’t fight each other ruthlessly in the Earth Kingdom. Worst of all, Toph seemed to be enjoying it. Once they stepped on solid ground, her face was split into a shit eating grin. 

“Toph!” Katara whispered. “We really need to get out of here.” 

Toph rolled her eyes. “They’re telling the truth, Katara. They don’t want to hurt us.” 

“You,” she said, pointing at Azula. “Tell a lie.” 

Azula rolled her eyes but acquiesced. “I am a 400 foot tall platypus bear and silver wings.” 

Toph’s eyes bugged out of her head. “Okay, you’re good. I admit it, but there’s no way Sparky is as good, right?”

Katara glared at Zuko. He turned bright red and started babbling, thinking of a lie to tell. 

“I- um… can make rainbow fire?” he said. 

“Oh Spirits, you’re so bad at lying,” Toph said. Azula smacked her hand onto her forehead and sighed loudly. “Tell us that you don’t want to hurt us.” 

Zuko looked confused and scared. “Um, we don’t want to hurt you.” 

Toph turned back to Katara and threw her arms out. “See? They’re fine. Now, I wanna see them light some shit on fire!” 

Katara groaned as the Fire Nation teens went back to their pile of shit. How was Toph so comfortable around them? The past few days had eaten away at Katara. She felt so guilty and was so upset by their deaths, but now she just felt stupid. She almost wanted to kill them herself. 

Zuko moved closer to the pile, inspecting it once more. The portraits and drawings created a mini hill. Katara walked closer. If they were going to burn all of it, she at least wanted to see it one last time. 

When she got closer she saw what Zuko was holding. It was the official portrait of the royal family. Katara watched as he raised his hand to brush his fingers up against two figures. The only two she didn’t recognize. 

“That was my cousin,” he said, startling her. “His name was Lu Ten. He died in the siege of Ba Sing Se. It was the reason my uncle gave up.” He sniffled. “It’s the reason she’s gone,” he whispered, brushing along the female, clearly their mother. “If Uncle had just come home and not given up his birthright like that, none of this would have happened. She might still be here.” 

“I’m sorry,” she said truthfully. “What happened to her?” 

A tear slipped from Zuko’s good eye. “I don’t know.” 

The only thing worse than seeing her mother’s corpse might have been not knowing what happened to her at all. She wanted to give him comfort, lay a hand on his shoulder or trace circles around his back, but she couldn’t. He gave up that right a long time ago, when he betrayed her in Ba Sing Se.

So, she turned away and picked up a piece of parchment. It was the same image of Zuko without a scar. He looked handsome, but nothing at all like how he was now. 

“I guess I should thank you. You know, for not healing my scar,” said Zuko. 

Katara turned, “What, why?” 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, I do,” he said. “But then I would look like that. And I don’t want to look like that.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I’d look like him,” he said, looking up at the gross statute. 

She had thought about it before, but never dreamed up saying anything about the resemblance. When they first encountered each other again, it was because she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but now, she didn’t want to hurt him. 

“But, you don’t really look like him.” 

“Not anymore,” he answered. 

She looked back at the picture. This boy in the drawing was nothing compared to the boy next to her. 

She heard chatter behind her but didn’t think much of it. 

Zuo cleared his throat next to her. “Anyway, I, uh. I’m really sorry,” he said, “You know, about everything.” 

She turned to look at him but he wasn’t facing her anymore. He was staring at his empty hands. 

“What I did in Ba Sing Se was really wrong, and I should have known better. I know it’s inexcusable. I’m sorry for being rude in that town when you were just trying to help and about the North Pole. That was major dick behavior.” He chuckled. “And, um. I’m really sorry about taking your mother’s necklace. I really did just find it, I didn’t steal it or anything. But if I had known about your mom, I wouldn’t have used it against you.” 

Katara felt her throat start to close up. Zuko looked at her but she couldn’t hold the gaze. It was too honest, too painful. In truth, she hadn’t thought about the fact that he took her necklace in a long time. Once she had gotten it back, the fact that she lost it didn’t really matter. 

“He’s not lying!” Toph shouted from somewhere behind her. 

“Thanks Toph!” she shouted back. “I kinda got that one.” 

She heard Toph mumble a “Geeze.” 

When she looked back at Zuko, she wanted to start crying. He was being so open with her, more so than in Ba Sing Se.

“I know you’re not lying,” Katara spoke. “But I still don’t trust you. If you make one slip up, give me one good reason that you’re going back to how you were, you won’t have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I will end it for you right then and there, permanently.” 

For some reason, Zuko didn’t look as freaked out as he should’ve been. He just looked hurt. 

“Mess up and you’ll kill me. Got it.” He mumbled as he turned to walk to the rest of the group, “Just like old times.” 

***

Zuko stalked back over to his sister with a million thoughts running through his head. He did not think the day would include finding  _ her _ and bailing her out of jail. It was like the spirits decided to play a cruel joke on him. Just as he was starting to put her out of his mind, she came back to him in real life. 

Should he be angry? Did he have the right to be angry? She was in the right here. She wasn’t the one who got the avatar killed. She wasn’t born into this impossible position of power. She wasn’t born and bred to believe this propaganda. She didn’t have to go against everything her father stood for. She wasn’t abandoned, cast aside by a warmongering family. She was wanted in this country, sure, but not her home country. At the end of the day, she had the opportunity to go home if she really wanted to. 

But not him. He was trapped in this impossible game. A game he thought he knew the rules of, but he never did. The fug was swept out from under him more and more as he grew older. He didn’t have a choice in the game, but she did. Even though he wanted her approval, he also couldn’t help but resent her. 

After all, she was the one who had his uncle’s support. Not him. 

Thinking of Iroh got harder and harder each day. Zuko desperately wanted to please him, but like father, he always felt like he never would. 

The crunching of his shoes filled his ears as he tried to forget about the man he thought he would make proud, only to let him down one final time. 

Azula looked at him with a strange look on her face. But it was gone as quickly as it came, becoming her usual frown. 

“Come on, Zuzu. We don’t have all day.” Azula snapped, “Peasant, get over here before we light you on fire with it.”

Katara looked angry, as she should, and started walking over. She pointedly did not stand by him. He was more than okay with that right now. 

“Please stop calling her a peasant,” he sighed. “As of right now, she has more status than we do. Let’s just light this pile of shot on fire and get out of this Agni-dammed city.”

Mai, who was standing on his right, agreed with him. “This city is a prison.” 

He heard Katara scoff. 

“Okay, very well,” Azula said. “Let’s take care of this and we’ll talk with you after. We have a lot to catch you up on.” 

“Wha-”

“On three?” She whispered to him. 

“On three.” 

“One.” 

“Two.” 

“Three.” 

Both siblings let out a grunt as they shot fire at the pile of parchment and canvas. The whole thing went up in flames. The paper didn’t take long to burn. Zuko could see some ashes from the top papers falling to the ground. The canvases were harder. The wood in the boards, along with the thick material itself, took longer to turn to ash. 

Zuko saw one of his family portraits that was facing him. The fire consumed the background, over his father, and across his left eye, before melting away the rest of his family. 

His sister’s blue flames mixed with his golden ones. The colors stayed, neither of them bending to the will of the other flame. In his sister’s fire he saw the years of pain that she had to overcome to be standing beside him. That, or he was just in a dramatic mood again. 

His fire was warm, but not terribly so. It didn’t tear through the paper as his sister’s did. Instead, it took it’s time and could have stayed alive longer. 

He snapped back to reality when Ty Lee spoke. “So… what now?” 

Turning his face to Azula, he found she was already looking at him. With a nod, they both shoot flames out of their feet. He heard a shout, probably from that little blind girl.

Azula got to the statue before he did, because of course she did. 

“Where do we start, brother?” she asked, eyes the sculpture with a deadly glare. 

Zuko coated his arm in fire. “I think with his stupid goatee.” 

Azula actually laughed as Zuko reached forward with his flaming hand and pulled on his beard. The cheap metal that was used to construct the statue fell apart at his touch. He didn’t expect his father to purchase any expensive metal, but this was still humiliating. 

The statue became a glob of mush in his hand. Throwing it over his shoulder he had set out to burn the sculpture in every way that he had been burned over the years. It seemed Azula was going the same. 

She never got hurt as much as he did. In fact, it wasn’t even close. For every ten burns on his body, his sister beard one. He was bitter, but also understanding. He knew what the burns felt like and didn’t want her to feel the same pain as he did. 

Azula was around the leg, cutting a huge mark into the surface of the thigh. She had earned that scar when their mother first left. It was probably the worst one on her body. Azula had been distracted during her lessons after their mother. She had even done so much as to cry when her instructor scolded at her. 

Zuko placed what felt like thousands of little burns on his father’s fake chest and back. Both siblings were taking turns with the arms and shoulders. 

Zuko got back to the face and sucked in a breath. It was the face he should have had, but didn’t want. 

There was pressure on his shoulder. Azula stood by him with the most understanding eyes he’d ever seen on her. 

Wordlessly, she asked for permission. He gave it up willingly. She nodded and looked back at the statute with him. Her flames were a brighter blue than they’ve ever been before as she cupped the left side of the face. 

The metal melted off like candle wax. Peeling each layer of the art until it was completely smoothed out and melted. 

He wondered if he looked like that. 

“What just happened?” the water bender asked. 

Zuko didn’t have the energy to deal with her right now. 

“Uh… guys?” the earth bender warned. “Cops!” 

“Fuck,” Mai whispered as she grabbed all the bags. 

Ty Lee helped as she repeated the same phrase, “Oh Agni, please help us.” 

Azula grabbed his arm as they made their way back to the group. 

The new arrivals just stood there, stone cold. 

“What are you guys doing, let’s  _ go _ ! We have to move!” Zuko shouted. 

That only seemed to awaken the smaller one, who was running behind Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula. 

The Water Tribe Girl just stood there still. 

“Come  _ on _ Katara, let’s  _ go _ !” He shouted again. 

This didn’t help as she just stared at him in a different way, shocked. 

Shit, that was the first time he’d ever used her name. 

Huffing, he grabbed her arm. She almost flinched, but Zuko didn’t care. He would be appalled at his actions later, but for now, they didn’t have time for this. 

She ran numbly behind him as he led them through a different route than the others had taken. It was too risky for them to follow right away. While turning a corner, Katara seemed to wake up. She moved her arm out of his grasp, only to hold his hand tighter as they ran together. 

There were puddles that splashed their feet, but other than that, there was no trace of them ever coming by the area. Zuko’s steps were quick and light, like how he had been when he was the Blue Spirit. Katara following behind him had a surprisingly similar effect. If he had not known she was there, it wouldn’t be hard to miss her. She sounded like a spirit as much as he did. 

When he could no longer hear the crackling of his fire or hear any footsteps behind them, he pulled them into a small alcove. He grossly overestimated the amount of space inside, as there was barely enough room for the two of them. His chest was mere inches away from hers. 

He realized that they were still holding hands. Or, rather, his hand was in her death grip. She didn’t let up, whether it was because it made her feel better and safe, or if she was angry at him and didn’t want to actually yell at him. 

When he looked into her eyes, he realized it was probably a mix of both. Her face was red with anger but her eyes were pleading. Zuko knew the only way out of this was forward. 

“Look,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t want to be here either, but we couldn’t risk going after my sister and her friends when the cops were right behind us. I know where to meet them, and I can get you there, but you’re going to have to trust me.” 

She still didn’t let go of his hand. 

A piece of hair fell into his eyes. He blew it away. Seeing she tracked the motion with her eyes, he pulled her closer.    


“Katara. I need you to tell me that you’re going to trust me to get you back to your friends and I am  _ not _ going to hurt you or them. Ever again.” 

“Okay,” she breathed, probably still catching her breath. “I can trust you to get me back to my friends.” 

Just then, there were footsteps that were coming closer. Without a second thought, he pushed them further into the alcove and pulled his dark cloak around the both of them. Thankfully, he had moved them so they were not facing each other, but their bodies were still pressed together. 

He held his breath as the footsteps came closer then moved past them. 

They weren’t in the clear yet. 

This might take a while. 

***

Katara held her breath as long as she could. The footsteps had been gone for a while now, but Zuko didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon. 

After what felt like hours, but was probably nowhere near as long, Zuko finally unwrapped her from his cloak, letting out a deep sigh. Katara finally looked at his face. He wore stress and worry, but his face looked younger than before. When he wore his ponytail, he looked like he was much older than he was. Now, he looked like a normal teenager. It was nice, but not nice enough to forgive him. 

He looked at her, golden eyes washed over her. She felt warm, but that was probably because he was a fire bender and they were still in the Fire Nation. 

“Okay,” he whispered in a gravelly voice. “I know you want answers, but you probably want that girl with you so she can tell if I’m lying.” He made a face, “I’m still not sure how she can do that.” He looked back at her again. “But anyway- we need to move and we need to move now. They’re not totally gone, so we’ll have to be quiet and quick. C’mon,” he said, tugging her along with him. It made her realize she was still holding onto his hand tightly. 

Katara glared at him from behind his back. “Fine. But you  _ are _ going to give me answers as soon as we find Toph.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

Katara glared at him harder. 

They weren’t running per se, but they weren’t just walking either. They back tracked a couple of times, went to different parts of the city, and just stopped for a few moments. It was dark by now and Zuko wasn’t taking a chance that anyone was following them, though Katara highly doubted it. 

“Why are you freaking out so much?” she whispered to him.    
  


He didn’t look back at her. “Because if they find us we’ll be charged with treason. Even if they don’t figure out who we are, we’ll still probably be executed.” 

This shocked Katara so much that she tripped over a rock that she would have noticed otherwise. 

When she hit the ground, she made a sound of pain. A sound that was probably too loud based on Zuko’s reaction.

“Shit!” He pulled her up and started running at full speed. 

Katara knew only guilty people ran, and that’s definitely how the Fire Fountain City police saw things. Within a minute, there were people running after them. 

She was scared. For the first time since Aang was killed, she was really, really scared. She gripped onto Zuko like a vice as he led them around the town. 

She was having so much trouble breathing, that she didn’t even recognize the grunt of pain he produced. 

When the sounds behind them stopped, he quickly circled them back around. 

With the ground hitting her feet like it did before, Katara realized that they were on the way back to her camp. How did he know where she was staying? Was he really trying to hurt or capture Aang? 

She didn’t have much time to dwell on these thoughts as they finally made it to their destination. 

Her friends and his were having an actual conversation. No one looked as uncomfortable as they should be, but no one looked completely at ease either. Azula was having an amicable conversation with her brother of all people!

When they heard the pair, Azula raised a brow as she turned to look at them. 

“Sugar Queen!” Toph cried. “You’re finally back with Sparky! We were starting to get worried.” 

“I wasn’t,” Azula said. Even with the knowledge that she was an amazing liar, Katara saw right through it. “What’s wrong with you brother, you look like hell.” 

When she finally looked at him, she knew exactly what Azula meant. His face was pale. Well, it was always pale, like ivory, but this didn’t look right. His eyes were unfocused, and if she listened enough, she could hear him wheezing. Maybe he was just winded? 

Nope. Definitely not. Because as soon as she thought that, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell face first. 

It was then that she saw the arrow sticking out of his back and the blood trailing behind him. 

She heard Azula scream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should i raise the rating? i'm not sure what the difference is between t and m. 
> 
> azula and zuko might seem a little ooc but that's how actual siblings are around each other. we make fun of them even when we're not on the best of terms and i wanted them to seem more human and less like fake edgy. 
> 
> lmk what you think! :)
> 
> follow me on tumblr @ strawberrymilkyumyum


	7. Rocks and Grains of Salt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara saves Zuko and maybe overhears some things about him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: blood, injury, language, brief mentions of abuse
> 
> so this chapter isn't quite 5k words, but it's close and it's the longest in terms of pages. 
> 
> also sorry this is coming out so late, i had a lot of stuff to do after school today bc college apps are due for me this week so AHHHH
> 
> (also i said 'kuruk era painting' somewhere in the last chapter i think, that was my version of a renaissance painting, even though usually when people say that they mean a baroque era painting.)

Zuko hit the ground with a thud, there was a thick coating of blood around his cloak. Katara rushed down beside him and inspected the amount of blood loss. Drops of blood trailed behind them, nothing too serious, but this wouldn’t be a walk in the park either. 

Azula let out a cry as she rushed to Zuko’s side, trying to cling onto him. Katara practically had to pry her hands off of Zuko in order to inspect the wound more clearly. 

“Someone needs to get me some water,” Katara said, realizing she still didn’t have any bending water on her person. 

Azula looked at her and growled, “This isn’t the time for you to get thirsty, you filthy water peasant.” 

“I  _ need _ it to heal him!” she shouted. Azula seemed somewhat surprised, however, it was quickly masked again. 

Ty got up and said, “I’ll get it.” 

Mai ran with her and while she didn’t really trust both of them to be alone, she didn’t have much choice. 

Katara took a deep breath and positioned herself so that she would be right by his side to take the arrow out. 

“Toph, Sokka, hold him down,” she ordered. 

They both nodded and held Zuko down by the arms. 

“They’re almost back,” Toph said. 

Good. She needed to get the water right away once she took the arrow out. 

As soon as she could sense the water coming from the basin they used to wash their hands when they didn’t want to go all the way down to the river, Katara pulled the arrow out of his back. 

It was hard, she’s never exactly done something like this before. Pulling something out of human flesh was something she never wanted to do again. 

Zuko didn’t move, but he did groan. The sounds were painful to hear. She was very glad that at least he wasn’t entirely conscious. 

Katara simply tossed the arrow aside once she pulled it out. Blood oozed out of the wound, darkening the already dark fabric. The cloak was clearly expensive, probably something from his luxurious fire palace, the bastard. 

Mai and Ty were right there with the water. Katara pulled it out and coated her hands with it. Placing the water by the entrance of the injury, Katara closed her eyes and felt the blue-green glow. 

She heard gasps coming from the girls who had never seen water healing before, they probably didn’t even know it existed. She heard shuffling as Ty and Mai came to hug Azula and let Katara work. 

She’s never healed anything like this.Cuts and burns, sure, but this was different. Even with Aang, she had her spirit water with her. Katara thought back on her days in the icy Northern Water Tribe. She probably should’ve paid more attention to healing, but what she had would have to be enough. 

Katara didn’t think about the boy in front of her. All she thought about was the muscles in his body stitching back together, healing from the inside out. 

“Stupid Zuko,” Azula mumbled. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. You never think things through. You never learn, do you. Stupid Zuko.” 

Katara almost asked what Azula meant, but didn’t. Now really wasn’t the time. She also tried not to listen to Mai and Ty whispering, “It’s okay, it’s gonna be okay,” over and over. It kinda confused Katara. She would not have thought these people would be very sentimental over anyone, nevermind a boy they had been estranged from in the Earth Kingdom. 

She didn’t know the whole story, and she cursed herself for wanting to. 

The session was long, by the time she was done, it was dark outside and some of the others were eating dinner, but not her. She remained stuck at Zuko’s side, healing him as much as she possibly could. Both because she couldn’t leave him and pain and she didn’t want to have to sleep around his sister. 

Exhausted, Katara picked herself up and started making her way to the center of camp where her friends were chatting. Katara noticed how only Mai was with them, not Azula and Ty. It freaked Katara out, they should be here. Where were they? 

She decided to take a look around camp to find them. She’d be damned if she just let them burn down their camp, destroying their chances to leave. 

Though there was no light, Katara still decided to hide behind any object she could. First it was a tent, then a tree, and finally a rock. Cool stone pressed against her as she peaked over the rock. Standing in a small patch of grass with Appa behind them, was Azula and Ty Lee. They were standing away from the bison, Azula stood with her arms crossed as Ty rubbed her back. 

The girl in pink rubbed small circles into Azula’s back, trying to calm her down. 

“He’s so stupid,” Azula said. There wasn’t any hint of amusement in her voice, it was kinda concerning. “He can never just  _ think things through _ .” 

Ty stayed silent. 

“He just always has to be the hero. He always has to do what’s  _ right _ . It’s fucking infuriating!” Azula continued. 

Ty said, “Isn’t that a good thing, though? I mean, it definitely helped us out when we were younger. Like when we didn’t want to get in trouble for stealing that mochi? He told your dad that he did it.” 

Azula scoffed. “I wouldn’t have gotten in trouble.” 

“Yes. You would have.” 

Azula sighed. Pausing for a moment. 

With her head down, she whispered so quietly Katara almost couldn’t hear, “Did you know Zuzu fought in another Agni Kai?” 

This got more of a reaction than Katara thought was necessary. Ty jumped away from Azula. Her eyes were wide and frightened. “What!” she whispered. 

“It was a few months ago,” Azula said. “Against Zhao.” 

“Zhao! He fought against  _ Zhao _ ?” 

Weren’t Zhao and Zuko on the same side? Katara was confused as to why they would fight each other, why it was such a big deal, and what an Agni Kai was. 

Azula sighed again, “It was a few months ago. According to the reports, Zhao goaded him into it and Zuko challenged it.” 

“What happened?” Ty squeaked. “Did he, you know…” 

“No,” she answered. “He  _ won _ . It didn’t even last that long, it was over within a few minutes.” 

“Well that’s good. Better than last time,” Ty said. 

Last time?

“I know, I just- He should have known! He could’ve gotten himself killed and I would have never seen him again! He’s just so  _ okay _ with leaving me behind!” Azula almost screamed. 

“Everyone’s so okay with leaving me behind.” 

Ty softened at the last whisper that came from her friend. Before Katara knew it, the girls were wrapped in a hug. Looking at it, Azula was holding on for dear life, holding like if she let go everything she was afraid of would become reality. Like she had nothing left. Like how a child would hold their mother when they scraped their knee. 

Ty moved them so they were sitting down. 

“You know he didn’t want to leave,” Ty cooed. “He couldn’t stay, but he never wanted to leave you behind.” 

“I know, but he still left. He could have fought, or shut his  _ fucking _ mouth, but he didn’t,” Azula cried. 

Ty added, “And you know I couldn’t stay either. Azula I would have stayed for you, but we both know I couldn’t.” 

“I know,” she sniffed. “I know it was too dangerous. Father would have seen how high you could jump, noticed your gray eyes, and thrown you in the Boiling Rock.”

“I was always talking about your aura. It wouldn’t have been that big of a reach.” Ty laughed quietly. “As much as I loved the circus, I wish I could’ve stayed.”

“Your sisters are still safe.”

“I know. But they were never into spirit-y stuff. They probably wouldn’t have been benders.” 

Azula pulled away. “It just hurts. Everyone left. First mother, then Zuko, then you, then Mai.”

“But,” Ty Lee said, “what about your uncle?” 

“Please, he never cared about me. He only really liked Zuko. I wasn’t good enough for him to care about.”

That made Katara choke up a little bit. Sure, Azula was kinda crazy when they met, but why wouldn’t her uncle want her? He traveled the world with Zuko, who was so incredibly annoying, what was so bad about Azula. Maybe if she just had a little love, she could’ve been better. It didn’t seem fair that her own uncle decided she wasn’t worth love. 

“It’s not your fault,” Ty said. “He should’ve been nicer to you.” 

“Yeah, he should have.” 

Just as Katara was about to turn around to go get something to eat, she heard the ground crunching behind her. She pressed her back closer to the edge of the rock, the stone turned almost warm from listening in on the conversation so far. 

“Zuko looks like he’s doing better,” Mai said. Her long clothes barely brushed the ground as she walked over to the other two Fire Nation girls. 

Ty perked up at that, “See, Azula, I told you he’s gonna be alright.” 

Mai brushed one perfectly polished hand against Ty’s as she sat so Azula was in the middle. “Ty Lee, let her have this. It’s okay to be scared.” 

Oh. Her name was Ty Lee. Not Ty. Note taken. 

“I wasn’t scared!” Azula snapped. 

Mai chuckled. “Yes you were. It’s okay, I was too, and so was Ty Lee.” 

Ty Lee nodded her head. 

“He always has to be the hero,” she repeated. “Saving that Water Tribe girl,  _ Katara _ . What was he thinking? The avatar learned water already, she’s expendable.” 

_ What _ did she just say?

“Azula…”

“Okay fine. She’s not expendable and blah blah blah… but he still didn’t need to get shot.” 

Mai sighed. 

Ty Lee just looked sad. 

“Do you remember one of our first sleepovers at the palace?” Mai asked. Ty Lee nodded, smiling. Even Azula had a small grin on her face. “We convinced Zuko to help us sneak up to the roof? He was so excited to help out and he was so nice to Ty when she scraped her knee.” 

Azula smiled. “That was a nice night. He showed us where there were some secret passageways that servants used to use. He helped us all get up on the roof then we all had to help him up.” 

“The stars were so beautiful that night,” Ty Lee said. 

“What about when Zuko got his knife so Mai decided to start training knives too!” Azula said, smirking. 

Ty Lee put on a smile that didn’t feel totally real. “Yeah she had  _ such _ a big crush on him and decided to dedicate her entire life to knives.” 

Mai blushed and looked down. “I mean, it worked out didn’t it? I made the right choice?” 

Katara wasn’t aware of what the ‘right choice’ was. Was it Zuko or the knives? She had suspected that there was something going on that had ended, but with the smirk covering Azula’s face and the blush covering Mai’s Katara had the feeling there was something  _ currently _ going on. 

There was a sinking feeling inside her stomach. She didn’t like it- didn’t like it at all. Something about this just felt  _ off _ . She wasn’t jealous in any way, she didn’t really know Zuko, she didn’t even like him all that much. But, for some reason, the thought of him with Mai made her  _ angry _ . Unreasonably, irrationally angry. 

She would have stormed off, but if she did, they definitely would have noticed. So, she just stayed, seething for a reason she wasn’t aware of. 

“What about the ‘fountain incident?’” Ty Lee asked. 

“Oh yeah…” Azula mused. “When I put an apple on your head and then Zuko got all scared and pushed you into the fountain.” 

“It was kinda cute.” 

“It wasn’t cute!” Mai said in her normal rasp. 

“Even I have to admit, yes it was,” Azula said. 

“Ugh,” Mai said, falling onto her back. 

“What about you, Azula? Don’t you have any embarrassing memories from talking to a boy?” 

“Obviously not.” 

“Oh yeah?” Mai challenged. “What about when you got an entire party to go silent because you were practicing laughing at Chan’s jokes on Ty Lee?” 

Azula turned red. “Well, that wasn’t a moment with him so it doesn’t count.” 

Katara couldn’t help but giggle a little at the idea. Azula standing with Ty Lee in the middle of a party, laughing so awkwardly that an entire room just paused for a moment. Katara might have done her fair share of embarrassing things in front of boys, but she never did that. 

Ty Lee tilted her head. “What about when he kissed you?” 

Azula’s eyes widened as she gasped, looking at Ty Lee. Mai even cracked a smile. 

“I’m sorry what?” 

Ty Lee grinned. “Zuko said that when you went outside with Chan, he kissed you and you threatened him.” 

Point Azula. Threatening people who just randomly kiss her. 

“That’s not what happened!” 

“So what  _ did _ happen?” Mai asked. 

“No!” Azula buried her head in her hands. “It’s too embarrassing.” 

“Don’t say that, I’m sure it’s not nearly as embarrassing as the time Ty Lee found out the person she was dating was 19.” 

“Hey- he looked like he was my age and I looked older.” 

“Pah-lease!” Mai said. “He looked like he was 35.”

“Did not,” Ty said smiling. 

“Did to!” Mai joked.

“Did not!” 

“Did to.” 

“Did  _ not _ !” 

“Guys!” 

“Sorry,” Mai and Ty Lee responded. 

“Anyway,” Azula said. “We went outside and he told me some shitty joke about sand. He kissed me and then, um…” 

“What?” 

“I kinda told him that we could be the most powerful couple in the Fire Nation…” 

Both girls made noises of disbelief, which was good for Katara as she laughed out loud. 

“And  _ then _ what happened?” 

“What do you mean ‘and then what happened’? He obviously ran away because who would say that?” Azula said. “I mean, I was right though. He is the son of some Admiral, we would have been a powerful couple.” 

Man, this was getting better and better. 

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell him who you  _ were _ did you?”

“No…” 

Both Mai and Ty Lee started openly laughing. Katara snickered behind her safe rock. 

“And you said his outfit was so sharp that it could- what?” Mai asked. 

Azula mumbled something. 

“What was that?” Ty Lee asked. 

“Could puncture the hull of a Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea.” Though her tone was irritated, Katara could tell Azula was smiling, at least a little. 

After the laughter died down Azula added, “At least we burned his house down afterwards.”    
  
“Oh yeah,” Mai said. “That was the best part of the party.” 

The girls reminisced about their time spent at the party and burning it down. When she was confident she could get away, Katara snuck off again. 

Zuko had been by himself long enough, so Katara decided to take another look at him. 

He was laid down in the ground, healing water in the basin beside him. She had changed the water out twice. The current water was still tinged with brown and red. She kneeled beside the boy, looking at him through new eyes. 

She took what the girls said about him with a grain of salt. They were just trying to cheer each other up, thinking about kind memories of him. But what kind memories they were, except for the whole burning down a house thing. Katara reached out a hand to brush his hair out of his forehead. Asleep, he looked content. He looked kind. He looked like the boy who would save his sister and her friends from getting in trouble for stealing mochi. He looked like the kind of boy who would help his sister and her friends onto the roof. Who would knock someone into a fountain to save them. 

He looked like a boy. A kind, sweet, caring boy. 

A boy she maybe could- 

No. She wasn’t even going to think about it. He wasn’t that boy. Not really. The left side of his face showed that. Something had happened, he had done something to earn that scar, somehow. 

Though there was nothing she wanted more than to hold this boy and forget about the world, she couldn’t. 

Wait, why did she want to hold him? 

Reluctantly, Katara dropped her hand. 

Zuko’s expression changed. His face scrunched up a little. His brow was pinched. He looked like he was in pain, but his wound was closed. There wasn’t much for him to be in pain because of. 

Carefully, she put a hand back onto his face. It relaxed once again. And pitched again after she dropped it. 

Sighing, Katara rested her forehead on his chest, thinking things through, trying to relax. 

He smelled nice. 

***

Zuko couldn’t remember what happened. He knew he was running. He heard arrows being shot all around him, a pain in his back, and running. But he wasn’t exactly sure where the memories ended. 

But he definitely did not understand how his memories started back up again with Katara laying her head on his chest and breathing him in. 

While he didn’t actually remember being unconscious, he was left with a feeling. He felt calm and cool, like the waves pushing him forward, pulling him under. Because of this, he woke up groggy. Unaware of his surroundings, unsure of what was going on. 

Instead of answers, he found more questions. Why was he just in a pile alone with this girl? Why did his shoulder not really hurt anymore? Why was that bowl filled with blood? Was it his blood? 

He groaned, trying to look at the water bender. Her brown hair spilled over her shoulders, coating his own body as well as hers. Before, it always featured two loops, but the beads held hair that was just pulled into her topknot like the rest of her hair now. While it wasn’t an uncommon style, she had no right to be wearing a top knot at all. It was possible for girls her age to have the honor of a top knot, she did not. Sure, she wasn’t a savage, but she wasn’t even a part of the Fire Nation. Hair meant everything here. And while Zuko recognized it was just a part of her undercover outfit, he still felt a little uneasy looking at the topknot that she did not earn. 

Zuko had put in years of tireless hard work in order to be worthy of a top knot. It didn’t seem fair or right that she could just have one. 

Zuko felt a little self conscious when Katara took a deep breath. He didn’t think he smelled bad, he took a shower only a couple of hours ago, but he didn’t think he smelled  _ that _ good. 

She only noticed he was awake when Zuko felt something in his back tighten. He winced and let out a small noise, but it was enough for her to snap out of whatever she was doing before. 

“What were you doing?” he asked, his voice much lower and raspier than usual, due to lack of use. 

A blush so dark it matched her top and covered her face. For all he knew by looking at her face, they were back in the poles. The way her face blushed reminded him of the way it blushed during the cold. It was quite cute. 

No it wasn’t. Why would he even say that. 

Instead of answering his question, she avoided it. He couldn’t say he blamed her. If it was the other way around, he would not want to answer her. 

“How’s your back?” she squeaked out. 

He rose up some more. “Fine.” His back tightened again, sending a radiating pain through his body, “Sore.” 

“I bet,” she said, regaining her composure. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he said, “what the hell/fuck is going on?” 

She slightly giggled. He didn’t really intend it to be funny. “Well, when you got hit by the arrow, instead of tending to it right away, you waited until we got back to camp. You passed out as soon as we got here and I’ve been healing you since.” 

“With water?” 

She huffed, “Some water benders can heal. I can, so I did.” 

Zuko looked over at the bowl again, filled with bloody water. Then, he looked back into her eyes. Her eyes that were as blue as that water should have been. “Thank you,” he said earnestly. 

Katara seemed slightly taken aback, but smiled at him anyway. “No problem.” 

For a moment they just stared at each other. He wanted to know what was going through her mind. He wanted to know what was going through his. Was he even thinking anything? He didn’t know. There were a million things going through his head, but he couldn’t grasp anything. So he stared, and she stared back. 

Until- “You must be hungry, right?” 

“Yeah, being shot does that to you I guess,” he answered. It was a dumb answer, but he wanted to see how she’d react to him. 

She smiled at him again. “It might’ve been all the blood loss.” 

“Maybe.”

Zuko wasn’t in pain, but he was sore. He would never admit how thankful he was for Katara being there to help him sit up and finally stand. With somewhat shaky legs, the pair moved down to the rest of the group. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to just grab you something?” Katara said, side eyeing him when he winced from moving his back. 

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, was that an option? I figured you just wanted me to go get it.” 

Katara huffed, “Well I would have done it if you had asked.”

“No way,” Zuko said. “I’m perfectly fine, I don’t need any extra care.” 

She was staring at him and on principal he refused to look at her when her eyes were probably filled with pity. He didn’t want it. He didn’t need it. 

“Okay, fine,” she sighed, finally looking away. 

Zuko let out a breath as he prepared for having to walk up a small hill, moving his legs up might put more strain on his back.

“Why’d you do it?”

Zuko looked at the girl. “Did what?” 

“You know, save me.”

Zuko looked at her. “When did I save you?”

Katara glared at him, “When you took an arrow for me. Tui it’s like you’re being deliberately obtuse.”

“I’m not being obtuse and I didn’t save you. I was getting us out of there and got shot. It had nothing to do with you.”

They were almost to the camp when Zuko stopped. 

“Wait, Katara-”

She looked at him with a range of emotions he couldn’t quite place. Her dark blue eyes somehow sparkled in the dark. 

“I- thank you,” he said. “Thank you for actually saving me. You really didn’t have to do that. So, thank you.” 

Katara softened. “Of course I had to do that. Even if you didn’t save me from the arrows, you still got me out of there and I never turn my back on people who need me.” 

“That’s very honorable of you to say,” Zuko said. He decided not to verbally add,  _ I really don’t deserve it _ . 

“It’s nothing,” Katara shrugged. “Besides, who would let someone just die in front of them?”

It was a rhetorical question, he knew. But he also knew that no one had ever just helped him other than her. Even when Aang pulled him out of the stronghold, it was because the avatar owed him. 

Not to say he didn’t thank Aang everyday. He thought about the boy in that moment often. He really didn’t  _ have _ to help Zuko. In fact, it would have fixed all of his problems if he just left Zuko there to die. Zuko would be off his case cause he’d be dead and Zhao would be rewarded for catching the treasonous crown prince. But he didn’t. He chose to save Zuko. It haunted him. 

But now, he would be able to repay that debt. 

He thought of his father, watching his own child writhe on the ground in pain. 

He thought of Azula when they were children, seemingly rejoicing in his pain. 

He thought of- of Uncle. Of how Uncle never said anything he could understand. He was always in so much emotional pain from not knowing what to do. He told Uncle he wanted actual advice, wanted someone to give their honest and upfront opinion. But he never did. He always shrouded his advice in proverbs that he didn’t understand. He didn’t know the meanings of his uncle’s words. It was always so allusive and impossible. It was torture. 

“You’d be surprised,” he whispered. “A lot of people would have just watched me bleed out.” 

Agni, even he knew that was kinda dramatic, but he really didn’t care, because it was true. The people he loved would have just watched him drown. Maybe Azula would save him now, but he couldn’t say the same thing about when they were little. 

Katra looked at him with confusion and something else. It was akin to pity, but it wasn’t pity. Sympathy? Empathy? 

“Well,” she said, “I’m here, and I won’t let you bleed out.” 

With that, she turned and headed back to their destination at a normal pace, leaving Zuko behind in the dust. 

What the hell was that?

***

Katara stomped over to get dinner by herself. Tui and La, she didn’t have enough energy to deal with Zuko right now. He made her feel weird. She didn’t want to be around him, but she couldn’t stop looking at him. Even now, as she walked away, she had to force herself to not look over her shoulder at him. 

Sokka, Aang, and Toph were all sitting on one side of the fire, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai on the other. The girls were talking to themselves as her friends made forced yet joyous conversation. 

WIthout greeting anyone, Katara served herself some dinner. She saw ZUko lumbering over and decided to be nice and serve him something too, even if wanted nothing to do with him right now. 

“Zuko!” Ty Lee cried, rushing over to help him down. He smiled, a nice smile, and walked with her to sit in between herself and Mai. 

“You really didn’t have to scare us like that though,” Mai said. “I was really worried.” 

“So was I,” Ty Lee said, still holding onto one of his arms. 

Azula looked away. “I wasn’t.” 

Zuko rolled his eyes playfully at her, “Yeah right.” He crowded her, “You were worried about me weren’t you. Scared that your big brother would finally be taken down by some stupid archer.” 

“Maybe.” 

He smiled.

“But I should have known you were too stubborn to die that easily.” 

“Exactly,” Zuko said. 

“We were just talking about that time you helped us sneak out to the roof,” Ty Lee said.

“Oh yeah, that was fun. Do you remember what the stars were that night, all I remember is that they were pretty,” Zuko said, looking down at the food Katara had set out for him. He grinned down at it, a grin only meant for him. It made something flip in Katara’s stomach, so she looked away.

Ty Lee groaned, “Just because I know about spiritual stuff and aura’s and shit doesn’t mean that I can remember the sky from like eight years ago!” 

Zuko chuckled. “Okay fine, what about the time you guys stuck a sweet wrapper in my nose to try to wake me up?” 

The friends laughed, even Mai. They delved into their own conversation about their shared past as her friends discussed things that they had discussed before. Sure, she loved hearing about Aang and his life 100 years ago, but she’d heard everything already. She heard Sokka’s stories a thousand times and Toph’s stories every single night. 

She listened in on their conversation as she ate. 

It was nice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was kinda a wild ride, let's see how next week fairs!
> 
> i think i've had katara be too nice to zuko so far so be ready for some more hostile katara coming. since this chapter was in her pov, i think next week is gonna be more in zuko's. 
> 
> let me know if you think ozai's angels are too ooc, i think this is how their friendship would work if it was healthy but i'm not sure. 
> 
> thank you for reading! 
> 
> if you want to check me out on tumblr, i'm @strawberrymilkyumyum


	8. Healing Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: language (i think) tw: injury   
> katara needs to keep zuko at their camp for the night, though everyone else disagrees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey sorry for being both a day late and like 2k less words than normal. its the end of the semester and i have college apps to finish up so this is the best i could swing this week. i dont think i can make it up next week but oh well...
> 
> in case you were wondering, this is kinda anti iroh, but not this chapter specifically

Toph was talking about an epic match she had with The Hippo from a year or two ago. He didn’t believe she was a returning champ and talked down to her like The Boulder. Eventually, Toph pounded his ass into the ground. Actually, she completely buried him. It was a really great story, but Katara had already heard it. 

“Hey, Kat,” Sokka said, crowding her space. “You good?” 

Katara sighed, “I’m fine, just tired.” 

He hummed unconvincingly. 

The group of Fire Nation teens were distracting her, both in her own mind and verbally in the real world. After the excitement they had over their initial reunion with Zuko, they had gotten somewhat quiet. They weren’t sharing loud stories like her friends were. They just kinda sat together. They chatted a bit, but nothing too spectacular. 

Katara kept sneaking glances at them. All together, they looked more relaxed than she had seen them so far. Then again, they had every right to be relaxed. Her and her friends might be some of the strongest benders out there, but the Fire Nation nobles were smart. They had been beaten by the nobles time and time again. Now that Aang couldn’t even go into the avatar state, they were more likely to win. 

Her thoughts swirled around in her head, but she couldn’t hold onto any one of them. It was impossible to keep up with. Her mind went from one thought to another to the next. If you asked her what she was thinking about, Katara wouldn’t be able to answer you. She didn’t feel trapped by her own mind, per se, but it didn’t feel very good to have all these thoughts. She vaguely registered her friends laughing around her, but Katara paid no mind to them. 

It wasn’t until she heard a loud  _ clink _ that Katara snapped back into focus. 

Azula had put down her food along with Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko. Azula was the first to stand, her new ponytail swinging in the slight breeze. Her hands were on her hips as she looked across their small encampment. 

“Well,” she said, “this has been great fun, but I’m afraid it’s time for us to head out. Come on, get up, let’s go.”

Mai and Ty Lee stood up and followed Azula, though the girl had only made it a few steps. 

Zuko tried to get up, but his back wouldn’t allow it. He must have been too sore from the arrow. The boy hunched himself over, almost forming a ball. Through gritted teeth, he made little to no sound as he stood. Azula did nothing to help, but neither did she. The former crown prince of the Fire Nation made his way over to the girls and ushered them to go, to keep moving forward because he’d be fine. 

He was not fine. Katara was the only one who could help him. 

“Wait!” she shouted. She received strange looks from both her friends and his. Zuko himself was also sporting an odd look. While it was primarily unreadable, it was also confused. Katara felt the same way, she just hoped it didn’t show. 

Forcing a calm yet determined look on her face she kept going. “Zuko is still healing. He might be able to stand and walk a bit, but he’s not ready for traveling. Any strenuous activity could do more damage. You guys have to stay the night so I can get one more session in.” 

She didn’t want to turn around because she knew her friends’ faces were all shocked. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had to pick Sokka’s jaw off the ground herself. 

Azula glared at her, “I think I can take care of my useless brother on my own, thank you.” 

“Azula,” Mai whispered. 

“Fine.” 

Zuko just stared. 

“Fine,” she repeated. “We’ll stay the night, but we’re leaving at sunrise.” This got a frown from Ty Lee. “If any one of you tries anything, let’s just say that I can fry you inside and out. The world already thinks you’re dead, I have no problems with keeping it that way.” 

Aang sucked in a breath behind her. 

Zuko rolled his eyes, “Look, I don’t want to stay either, but it’s not that big of a deal.” 

“Whatever. We’ll make camp where we train in the mornings.” Azula turned, her small army following behind her. Katara was very confused, but all Zuko did was nod his head as they left. 

Zuko turned to make eye contact with her, but before she could move, a hand wrapped around her forearm and pulled her away. Katara turned to see her brother, fuming, in front of her. 

He looked like he was the fire bender here because steam was about to come out of his ears according to the look he was giving her. 

“Katara,” he said, more seriously than she’s heard from him in a while. “Did you seriously just ask the Fire Nation’s dead Prince and Princess to spend the night with us like this is some fancy sleepover?” Sokka wasn’t yelling, but his voice was raised. It was almost as bad, probably worse than when he just exploded on her. 

“Yes,” she squeaked. 

He let out a slow breath through his nose to try to calm himself down. “And  _ why _ exactly would you do that?” 

“Because he saved me from the police and he’s  _ injured _ ! He really needs someone to hel-” 

“Oh Tui and La, Katara! This isn’t a game! He’s not some polar bear dog that broke its leg! He’s  _ dangerous _ !” Sokka snapped. Katara took a step back, a little bit frightened at his behavior. 

Katara almost whispered, “I know he’s not some pet. I know he’s a real human being. You think I trust him? Of course not! But what do you expect me to do? He’s injured and I can help!” 

Sokka just stared at her. 

“Why don’t you want me to help?” 

Sokka looked at her and he knew. It was about more than Zuko. Both her and her brother have struggled with feeling useless. Now that Katara can heal people, she feels personally responsible for everyone who gets hurt. Sokka is a non bender and struggles to find his place in battle. Though they are the reason this team is running, they both feel anatiquit. Useless. It’s terrible. 

“Fine,” he said in a gruff voice. “Do what you need to do. But we’re not keeping him.” 

She smiled. “No problem.” 

“What? No 'thank you'?” 

“Oh shut up.” 

***

Zuko watched the intense debate the Water Tribe siblings were having and slowly started to walk into the shadows. This was not how he was picturing his last day in this Agni forsaken town. 

He leaned against some kind of structure. It was dark and hard to see, but Zuko didn’t care much. His back was killing him. Though the wound was healed, it was still allowed to be a pain. 

The voices grew quiet and he heard light crunching. It must be Katara’s footsteps. She was getting closer to him. Zuko both dreaded and desired her to come over. Dreaded because he didn’t want to have to deal with her. Desired because if she was able to get rid of the pain then he was perfectly okay with that. 

The crunches stopped right in front of him. He could make out her vague silhouette in the light of the fire behind her. Backlit, he could see the fly aways in her hair. They stuck out at odd angles and curled in ways the rest of her hair didn’t. It looked charming, if somewhat frazzled. 

Thanking Agni for the gift bestowed upon him, Zuko reached out a hand and drowned them both out in a soft light. It saturated in her beautiful brown skin and etched into her dark hair, creating a picture he wishes he could keep. 

“Do you just want to go back to where you were already sleeping?” she asked. “It’s right near my tent so if you have any troubles during the night I can help you and won’t be that far away.” 

Zuko gave her the best smile he could under the circumstances. It probably looked pained and sad, but he tried his best. “Okay. That’d be great. Thanks.” 

She gave him a small smile of her own, though it looked  _ much _ more genuine. “You’re welcome.” 

She came around to help him get to his little cot or whatever next to her tent. The way back was much shorter than his initial trip to the fire. His left arm swung around her shoulders, holding on only slightly. She had her arms wrapped around his middle, keeping him steady and strong. It was almost like a hug. Zuko could probably make it one if he wanted to, but he didn’t. He hadn’t been hugged by anyone who hadn’t left him. While Zuko knew  _ he’d _ be the one leaving in the morning, he still didn’t want to risk anything and have her run out before he was ready to go. 

But damn, he needed a hug. Loathe as he was to admit it, he was touch starved. He had gotten more physical contact from her than he has in the last three to six years or so. And he just let her. He surprised himself with how vulnerable he was with her. He didn’t ponder what that meant. 

“And- here we are!” She said, helping him sit. She needed to get at his back and he didn’t feel like lying on his stomach. Yeah, sitting was easier. She turned to go, “I’m gonna go get some clean water.” 

She left, and Zuko looked down and realized there was no longer a calm, soothing presence next to him. He kinda missed it. 

***

Katara held the ball of water in front of her as she walked back to Zuko. She was being too nice. He was probably getting too comfortable. And she couldn’t allow that, now could she? 

She felt an abnormal breeze and turned to see Aang. He was standing in front of her without his hat on and a sheepish look on his face. 

“Are you sure you want them to stay?” he asked in a meek voice. 

“Yeah… why? Do you not like them? I thought the monks were all about forgiveness.”

His eyes widened. “Oh, no, that’s not it. And, we are! I- I’m just worried about you, that’s all.” 

Katara’s eyes softened. “Aw, Aang. I appreciate that, but I’m not the same girl as when we first met.” 

“Are you the same person from Ba Sing Se?” 

“No,” she shook her head. “But neither is he.” 

They smiled at each other for a few minutes and then Aang spoke up. 

“I really like how you want to help them. You’re a good person, Katara. Just, please be careful. We don’t have back up or magic spirit water.” 

She chuckled, “I will,” and made her way back to Zuko. 

He was in the same position that she had left him in. His hands were down by his sides, balancing him on the ground. He was nothing more than a shadow in a dark landscape. He looked the most calm that he’s been since he woke up a couple hours ago. 

Holding back a giggle was the hardest thing she’s done that day. Zuko had perked up like an owl kitten when he heard her coming. 

Katara settled down beside him. She threw out the old water in the basin and put the new water in there. With her hands gloved in water, she wordlessly brought them to his back. When the water started it’s healing blue-green glow, the boy sighed. It was a light and airy sound, one she didn’t think he was even capable of making. 

They stayed like that- in silence for a long time. She knit his wound together again and every once in a while, he’d make a small noise. 

Katara was focused on her work, not thinking about anything but healing. Not thinking about how this boy was making her furious but also relieved. Damn him. 

Katara pulled away, tired from her long day. Yue shone brightly in the sky, but she didn’t look back at her old friend. Instead, she looked into Zuko’s eyes. Even shrouded in darkness, she could see the beautiful golden eyes she’s seen a thousand times over. It was impossible, but they seemed to create their own light source. It was almost mythical, the glow his eyes had. 

A small shiver ran down her spine as she looked into the depths of his eyes, not bothering to take in the rest of her face. 

She thought of a story. An old story that her mother had told her a lifetime ago. It was about a girl who was cursed by the spirits when she was a child. On her sixteenth birthday, she was destined to get lost in a blizzard and never return. 

Her parents had cried and begged and for sixteen years, they never let her let her go out when it snowed. But no matter how hard they tried to keep her away from the blizzard that came on her birthday, she still went out into the cold. The village watched from their homes as she was seemingly pulled forward into the snow and was never seen again. 

_ “But why would she go outside? That’s stupid! I would never walk into a storm,” _ Katara had said. 

Her mother came beside her and patted her hair.  _ “Sweetie, she didn’t want to leave. It was like she was possessed. Some say there was a light drawing her forward and she couldn’t escape.” _

_ “I still think it’s stupid,”  _ Katara said. Kya laughed it off and Katara had fallen asleep. 

She didn’t understand then, but she did now. 

She was pulled into his eyes like that girl in the story. Going towards the light even though she was screaming at herself not to. He was a beautiful spirit in the ocean and she was a reckless sailor willing to dive into the shore. 

No. 

She would be dammed if she drowned in his waters. 

She’d be dammed if she froze in the blizzard. 

And she’d be damned if she was burned by this bender. 

Katara looked down, breaking eye contact. Zuko took a deep breath, expecting something, but Katara wasn’t sure what. 

“This doesn’t mean I like you,” she said. “Just because I healed you doesn’t mean I forgive you and just because you helped me you’re not absolved of all your crimes. You have hurt everyone here and I’m not about to let you do it again. Remember, one slip up, and you don’t have to worry about your destiny or honor anymore.”

“I understand.” His voice was raspy yet soft, calling out to her like the story. But this wasn’t some tale her mother told her before bed. 

“Good.” She stood. “Good,” she repeated to herself and stormed off into her tent. 

She had spent all of her tears already. Even with extra hydration, she might not be able to produce any if she tried. But she was too tired to cry. Too exhausted from everything going on around her. Zuko would be gone in the morning, maybe even before she woke up. Things would be easier in the morning.    


This whole nightmare would be over. RIght?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! lmk if you like it!
> 
> follow me on tumblr @strawberrymilkyumyum


	9. Puppet Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both the gaang and the fire nationals move on from Fire Fountain city, however, they meet someone that maybe wasn't what they seemed. 
> 
> tw: language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! i applied to four different colleges and got into one so far (i haven't heard from the others) i've had feb break as well as wrote a one shot which you should check out called 'ghostin him.' i also got these new contacts that are new in my country that are supposed to help my eye stop getting so bad. so... yeah, a lot's happened and i haven't had a bunch of energy to write, but i hope you like it! 
> 
> also, from now on, there's going to be a tw for language but i don't want to put it in every chapter, it's just going to be written down on the next few chapters just in case.

Warmth spread across Zuko’s chest, pulling him from his dreamless sleep. The feeling of the sun on the horizon always pulled him awake even when he would rather sleep in. 

As the energy scourged through him, he realized he was no longer in pain. There was a light soreness in his back, but nothing that he couldn’t deal with. In fact, he would probably be perfectly fine by this afternoon. 

Shit. They were traveling today. Zuko was suddenly thankful that he let Katara heal him last night because he could not row for hours on end if his back was as bad as it was. He would have liked to give one final thank you to her, but she would probably not be awake at this time of day. When he gained his energy, she was being deprived of hers. There was no doubt in his mind that it would be a couple hours before she woke up, and by then, he’d be long gone. 

Sighing, Zuko sat up. His shirt had risen during the night. For a split second, he felt the cool breeze of dawn hit the bottom of his torso before his shirt was covering him again. 

Zuko stood, an involuntary groan spilled from his lips. The sun wasn’t up yet. Instead, the sky was only starting to turn orange, indicating that the sun would rise shortly. 

Zuko looked for his sister, the only other person who would be awake at this time. They wouldn’t have time for a sparring session or any kind of training, but with about an hour of time to kill before Mai and Ty Lee would wake up, she would surely be meditating or praying. 

Zuko looked over and, on a small patch of open grass, Azula was kneeling. She must have been doing a morning prayer like Zuko had thought. He and his sister were not particularly spiritual, but they were descendants of Agni after all. His sister had called it their ‘divine right to rule’ in the past. Prayers to Agni used to be terrible. Ozai had made the siblings participate in them every morning. Azula always did well, but Zuko couldn’t sit still for that long. There was always something he did wrong. He was a jittery child, always on the move, and he was often punished for it. For so long, he hated praying, it was boring and usually ended in pain. But then his cousin talked to him. Lu Ten was the perfect heir and Zuko’s best friend. Lu Ten had shown him how to sit still and benefit from his prayers. At first, Zuko didn’t understand. But then Lu Ten left. And then he never came home. It brought him peace then. It made Zuko feel closer to his cousin. 

Wordlessly, Zuko knelt alongside Azula and prayed to Agni. In his mind, he spoke the words laid out for him, the same words he’s said a thousand times before. While there was once a time where a moment like this was the last thing he’d ever want, being here with his sister before sunrise simply praying, there was nowhere he’d rather be. 

But, the moment didn’t last forever, not that that was a bad thing. Azula moved from her prayer into a lotus position. When Zuko finished his own prayer, he followed suit. 

They faced the sun. The moon was somewhere behind them if it was even still out. The siblings stayed like that for a good amount of time. They soaked in the sun’s power. It filled their chests and flowed to their fingers and toes. At times like this, Zuko could understand what it was like to be a water bender. Energy pumped through his body, but it was still dark. It must be awful to draw your power from the moon, he pondered. Up all night, but forced to join the rest of the world during the day. It felt lonely. At least when Zuko was up late at night when he was the Blue Spirit, he was awake by choice. 

Rustling by his side alerted him of Ty Lee and Mai’s presence. Though they would have naturally slept much later, they put in the effort to try to wake up early. 

Azula shifted beside him, probably getting ready to go. But Zuko kept his eyes shut. He didn’t have anything to pack. Everything he owned was already in the bag Mai had brought to the fountain. 

During his small moment to himself, Ty Lee sat down where Azula once was. 

In his mind’s eye, Zuko pictured the nonbender next to him. He could imagine exactly what she looked like sitting down. Her pink clothes would be almost the same color as his in the morning light. Bags would be around her eyes for another hour or two. Her braid would be messy from sleeping on it. He knew she wouldn’t redo her hair until they were on their rowboat. She would have Mai brush and rebraid her hair when they were out on the open sea. Ty Lee is currently sitting in a lotus position, like him, he knew. She would have her right leg behind her left. She had made a big deal about which leg you chose to cross over the other when they were kids. 

He liked Ty Lee. During their youth, she was the only one that he felt actually wanted to be his friend. 

Azula was his sister and Mai had a crush on him. Ty Lee just enjoyed his presence, and he hers. 

“If you two lazy bums are done, we’re ready to go,” Azula said. Zuko opened his eyes and saw Azula and Mai standing over him. Ty Lee hopped up with less pep than normal and stood next to Mai. She was closer to her than she was sitting next to him. Zuko could almost smile at the thought, but he was too busy getting onto his feet himself. 

“Thank you, Azula,” he groaned. “What would I ever do without you?” 

They shared a look. He was daring her to say something, if only to make sure they could still have conversations. 

“Mm. Probably get yourself killed.” 

She turned around, expecting all of them to follow. Zuko’s smirk turned into a frown as he knew they  _ would _ follow her. 

The walk wasn’t far, but it was on Zuko’s joints. Although Katara had fully healed him, he still had old man joints. They seemed to disappear during fights or training, but he still had trouble walking up hills. 

Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula were all quiet, which was fine by him. The group the avatar kept around was very loud, Zuko could barely hear himself think. It wasn’t all bad, but it wasn’t what he was used to. Whenever he was with his friends, they talked but not excessively so. Silence was welcome and more accepted than small talk or talking just to fill the space. 

Zuko must have let his guard down, as the earth rumbled beneath him and grabbed a hold of his legs. He cried out, dropping his things on the ground. He heard two other female shouts and saw Azula and Mai were also captured. Zuko quickly burned the stone and broke free, his sister doing the same. Ty Lee had jumped through the air, but all three were once again drowned in earth. This time, his hands were bound so he couldn’t make a flame hot enough to break through. 

“Ahhhh!” he yelled, flames spilling from his mouth. It made his throat somewhat sore, but it was worth it so their enemy could know he wasn’t done fighting. 

But this wasn’t the Earth Kingdom. This was the Fire Nation. There were no earth benders here except- 

“Hey, Sparky,” the tiny earth bender, Toph, yelled. “What are you doing?” 

She stomped down to them and stood right in front of his face. Toph ended up having to look up at him, so she lowered him so that they were eye to eye. Zuko frowned, not knowing what was happening. 

Toph knocked on his head, “Well? Are you gonna answer me? What are you doing?”

Zuko sighed. “We’re leaving. We told you that last night.” 

“Maybe, but I never said I would let you,” she answered. 

Oh, Azula would love her. 

“You don’t gi-” 

“Upepep!” Toph put her finger to his lips as she shushed him. “If you want to leave, you have to go through me, considering your current position, that’s not gonna be easy. I want you to stay, so you're staying,” she stepped back, addressing them all. “Do you want to take your chances or are you gonna hang around until I let you go?” 

“We’ll stay,” Azula said, “but only because I don’t want to risk poor Zuzu getting hurt.”

“Zuzu,” Toph turned to him.   


“Fine,” he gritted out. “We’ll stay.” 

With that, Toph let them all go, waving them to move with her. Damn her, Zuko thought. He spent so long waiting for an opportunity to get close to the avatar, but now he just wanted to get away. 

The spirits were never kind to him. 

***

Katara awoke an hour or two before noon. It was almost a full moon, so she was restless in sleep, causing her to be drowsy. Only on mornings before the full moon did she allow herself to sleep so late. Katara was up almost all night from both the moon and her own thoughts. Zuko and his crew were the culprits. She thought of only them for hours. She wasn't able to fully fall asleep until dawn. Now, she got a good 6 hours or so. Not amazing, but not terrible. 

There was rustling beyond her tent. She sighed, the fire bender was likely gone by now. She could forget about him until the end of the war. Then, she could deal with him and who would be put on the Fire Throne, if anyone at all. 

The Water Tribe didn’t have a monarchy. Personally, she thought it best, but the people needed a ruler and they were more likely to follow a member of the royal family. 

She didn’t know what she was expecting to see outside her tent, but this was not it. Her eyes instantly connected with his. Pure gold, pooling around black pupils. Eyes that the greedy would swim in. Eyes she wanted to swim in as well. But she couldn’t be so greedy, even with him. Fire ignited in her veins as she realized she didn’t hate that he was here. The relieved feeling in her chest was overwhelmed by ire. She was angry at herself, but it was because of him. 

Try as she might, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She only captured parts of Sokka’s retelling of why they stayed. It was something out earth bending and Toph, but she didn’t hear. 

“What are you doing here?” Katara spat. 

All she got in response was Zuko rolling his eyes. 

Surprisingly, it was Mai who answered her. “We’re still here because your crazy, short friend tried to kill us and won’t let us go.”

Mai glared at Toph who wasn’t paying attention to her. 

“I made them stay because they seemed interesting.” Everyone stared at Toph. “Or, you know, it’d be easier for them to just travel with us out of here. Like tying up loose ends or whatever.” 

Katara looked at Sokka who just shrugged. 

Aang bounded over, “Okay, we’re pretty much packed and ready to go! Oh, hey, Katara, you’re up! We need to leave as soon as possible according to Sokka.” 

“We stayed here too long!” Sokka shouted. “We need to follow the schedule.” 

“Fine, ‘Schedule Master,’” Katara said, as she turned to pack up her tent. 

She felt eyes watching her. 

___

So… here they were. Aang was sitting on Appa’s head, Sokka leaning over the saddle to try to direct them. The Fire Nation trio was on the other side, completely silent and Toph kept trying to make conversation with them. Katara stayed as far away from them as possible. The only time she stopped her brooding was either to talk to Aang or glare directly at Zuko himself. 

“So, what was your vacation like?” Toph asked, leaning almost into Zuko, who tried to lean away from her. 

“Fine.” 

Toph huffed, “What did you guys do?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Ugh! You guys are boring. With everything Sokka and Katara said about you, I thought you’d be more interesting.” Toph said.   


“How dare you!” Azula said at the exact same time Zuko said-

“Yes, very boring.” 

They glared at each other and seemed to have a mini conversation without saying anything. They did grunt a lot though. 

“Yes, boring.” 

“Even Ty Lee is boring, you’d think that with all the super call gymnastics and bubbly personality she’d be really interesting- but… yeah, no,” Mai said. 

“Hey!” 

“Sorry.” 

Katara rolled her eyes as an extremely awkward silence fell over the saddle once again. 

___

“Okay,” Aang said, “I think that’s about it!” He jumped off Appa’s back with the last bag full of supplies. 

Katara continued to glare at Zuko. He tried to avoid eye contact with her, she could tell. He seemed to look anywhere but at her. This only enraged her more. How  _ dare _ he try to avoid her! After everything she’s done for him! How pretentious and pompous! 

Of course, of fucking course! After everything that’s happened between them, he still didn’t have the guts to look her in the eye. 

Katara couldn’t be more grateful that Zuko and his band of idiot jerks were leaving them. She wished she’d never seen them again. Oh spirits, she’d much prefer to believe they were still dead, both for her sake and their own. 

“Yes, thank you,” Azula said. 

Each of the Fire Nations carried their own bags. She was slightly surprised that they travel with so little. They were only one person short of Team Avatar and they carried around half of the supplies. Granted, they weren’t flying on Appa, but she still felt like they should have more with them. 

However, that didn’t make her any more sympathetic to the pack of monsters that her friends had somehow picked up along the way. 

Their goodbyes were short and impersonal, Katara didn’t say a word throughout the whole thing. Why should she? Her friends were her family, and these people tried to hurt them, of course she couldn’t just forgive them.

While they set up camp for the night, Katara was left thinking about Zuko and Azula’s motives. Why would they just leave? They had the perfect life! They were the beloved prince and princess of a whole country for spirit’s sake! 

Were they ungrateful? Did they realize they were wrong? No, that wasn’t it. There’s no way that they honestly changed their minds after everything that’s happened. Zuko made his choice and now he has to deal with it. 

***

As he walked away from the giant sky bison and the Water Tribe girl who traveled with it, Zuko tried not to think about what was next for them. They couldn’t roam around their own country forever! And what would happen to the royal bloodline? Without Zuko and Azula, the Fire Nation had no heirs. There was always the possibility that Ozai would remarry and have another child, but with the Fire Nation so close to finishing the war, he doubted his father would have time. 

Would Zuko be forced out of hiding after the war’s end? While the Fire Nation was powerful, he’s never heard of an avatar who left the world completely out of balance. There was always conflict, but this was another level. The spirits were with Aang on this one, and Zuko knew that, no matter what, the avatar would reign victorious. 

“What are you thinking about, Zuzu?” Azula asked. Her tone was teasing, but not in the way it had been while they were growing up. It was nice. 

Ty Lee giggled, “I bet he’s thinking about that girl, what was her name,  _ Katara _ ?” 

“I was not,” Zuko huffed. 

“Don’t worry Zuko, it’s okay,” Ty Lee said. “She’s very pretty and now that you’re single there’s no problem!” 

“I was not thinking about Katara!” he said. “And I definitely don’t want to date her!” 

“Oh,” Azula mocked, “it sounds like you’re afraid of her.” 

“I am not.” 

Mai laughed to herself. 

Ty Lee said, “Well, I mean, she is kinda scary. She has those really thick thighs and man shoulders.”

“She’s also really loud,” Azula said. 

“Her voice is screechy,” Mai added. 

“No wonder you’re afraid of her, Zuko, she’s probably a nightmare to date.” 

“I’m not  _ afraid _ of her, I respect her,” Zuko stated. “And her thighs and shoulders are fine, and her voice isn’t screechy.” 

“So you do like her?” 

“No.” 

Mai laughed, “It seems that Zuko has a thing for women who can kill him.” 

“I do not!” 

“Oh, it’s not just women,” Azula said. “He also told me about this guy who was trying to kill him once. According to Zuzu, it was very attractive.” 

“ _ Azula! _ ”

“What, we all knew it!” 

Mai and Ty Lee nodded their heads. 

“What do you mean you ‘all knew it?’”

Ty Lee answered, “When we were kids you’d always stare at some of the servant boys.” 

“I hate you guys,” Zuko mumbled under his breath. 

They set up camp fairly quickly once they decided to rest. Tomorrow would be a full moon and he wanted to put as much distance as he could between him and the water bender that hated him. 

He apologized to her and she still hated him, she had every right to. Right now, all that he could do was give her time to process before he apologized again. He wanted her forgiveness for some reason. It mattered more to him than it should. 

Zuko looked across the fire that they set up, Mai was resting her head in Ty Lee’s lap. Ty Lee was braiding Mai’s hair. Azula talked to them as she brushed out her own. 

All of a sudden, it was too much. Zuko needed some time to think, to be away from them. 

He stood abruptly and his friends all looked at him. 

“Where are you going?” Mai asked. 

“On a walk,” Zuko said as he turned around. 

“When will you be back,” Ty Lee asked. 

“I don’t know, by tomorrow morning.” 

Azula called out to him, “Be careful, Dum Dum!” 

He waved a hand behind him in irritation, acknowledging what she said, but not really caring about it. 

The woods were, the woods were nice. Zuko had never felt a strong connection to the earth, but he enjoyed wandering around the forest all the same. He wasn’t lost exactly, the fire from his camp produced smoke that he could follow. Azula’s flames were good enough that he didn’t need to worry about them dying out any time soon. 

Zuko thought about his life going forward. He might end up being the Fire Lord after all. His entire life he thought he was destined to be the Fire Lord. That he would rule the most amazing nation in the world. But as soon as he realized he didn’t want that, he was stuck with the very good chance that he would be Fire Lord after all. 

The Fire Nation deserved a leader who was good, who could change things for the better. Zuko was not that ruler. He didn’t know how to rule a country, how could he? He spent three years learning after his father became Fire Lord, then he was banished for three years. After he came back, he only got about a month of training to be Fire Lord. That wasn’t enough! Most Fire Lords have  _ years _ of training and experience before they took the crown. 

“Hello, there,” a voice said. 

Zuko jumped and raised his fists in flame, ready to fight. However, he dropped them when he saw there was just an old woman standing in front of him. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Hi,” he said. 

“No worries,” she said, “I was simply going to check on the fire in the woods.” 

“Oh. That’s my camp.” 

“I figured. Can you raise a light?” she asked.

“Sure.” He did as she asked and brought a small flame to his palm. It bathed them both in a soft light. It was kind of like the moment he shared with Katara only yesterday. He didn’t know why, but he felt the old woman was like Katara. 

She whispered, “Fascinating.” 

“I’m sure it’s nothing special,” Zuko said. “You probably see fire bending all the time.” 

“I wasn’t talking about your bending, Prince Zuko.” 

His eyes widened. “I- I’m not-”

“You may have the rest of the country fooled, but not I. I heard about your scar and I know there’s no one with a scar like it in the Fire Nation.” 

“Please don’t tell anyone you saw me,” Zuko pleaded. 

“I won’t,” she cooed. “No one will know you’re here.” 

Relief flooded through his veins, until something else did. 

The prince gasped as the old woman raised her hands. Sometime took over Zuko’s body. He was no longer able to control it. It didn’t hurt, per se, but it wasn’t pleasant. 

Quickly, Zuko tried to take stock of what could be doing this to him. Skin benders weren’t a thing, neither were mind benders. It didn’t feel like his bones were being bent so that ruled out earth benders. The only thing left was his blood. 

What was blood made out of again? He couldn’t recall as she forced him to him knees. He grunted as the old woman spoke out about revenge. 

Blood, blood was made from blood cells that traveled the body through veins. It was made from proteins, salt, and- and-

She raised him up once again, a smile on her lips as she leaned forward. 

“You’ll get what you deserve, Prince Zuko, but not yet. One more night remains for you.” 

Water! Blood was made of water! This revelation didn’t help him much as she marched him through the forest and up a mountain. 

Using her bending, the old woman threw him in a heap on the ground. She had yet to allow him to speak, keeping his jaw shut. 

She had another body tie him up. 

Zuko glared at the woman as she finally let him go. 

“How could you do this to innocent people?” he shouted. 

She stocked forward, “There is nothing innocent about anyone in the Fire Nation, least of all you.” 

“I am doing what’s best for my country.” 

“At the expense of the world!” she shouted. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” 

“How dare you,” she seethed. “This war has taken everything from me. It’s time I take something back.” 

With that, she left the mountain, closing the door behind her. He was trapped. In chains in a random mountain brought here by a crazed water bender. 

He left one powerful water bender who hated him and stumbled right into another one. Figures. 

***

Katara’s feet crunched into the ground as she walked beside Hama. She couldn’t believe that she was finally going to train with another water bender! She was going to learn Southern style water bending! It was a dream come true!

As she made her way into the woods, she thought about the fire lilies. They were beautiful flowers, and Hama just took their lives away. Katara was not a pacifist like Aang, but still. It was a shame to see those flowers die. Maybe when Katara got good enough, she could only take as much water as she needed while still keeping the plants alive. 

The moon rises in the sky. Katara thinks back to what those people mentioned in town. Kids went missing, but Katara was a master water bender during a full moon, she’d be fine. Plus, Hama was with her!

Hama stopped in the middle of the woods and turned to face her. 

“Now,” she said. “What I'm about to show you, I discovered in that wretched Fire Nation prison.”

Katara stepped forward, interested in what Hama was about to say. 

“The guards were always very careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air and had us suspended away from the ground. Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with  _ cruel _ retribution. And yet each month, I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape. Then I realized that where there is life, there is water. The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid and I passed years developing the skill that would lead to my escape. Bloodbending. Controlling the water in another body, enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I had mastered the rats, I was ready for the men.”

Katara watched in horror as Hama continued her speech. 

“And during the next full moon, I walked free for the first time in decades. My cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything or anyone.”

“In fact, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Hama said with a terrifying smile on her face. 

Katara looked over as there was rustling of the busing behind Hama. A boy walked out very clunkily to stand before her. 

She gasped. 

“This is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, Katara,” Hama said. “I want you to practice on him.” 

“But-” 

“No!” Hama shouted. “You know what he stands for, who he is! Your mother is dead because of him! Our villages, our  _ people _ , Katara! They are all gone because of him!” 

Zuko’s eyes went wide as Hama twisted his arms. 

“Stop!” Katara screamed. 

“They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters! They deserve the same! You must carry on my work!”

“I won't! I won't use bloodbending and I won't allow you to keep terrorizing this town!” 

Katara’s arm twisted forward on its own. She released a grunt trying to control it again, but it doesn’t work. Hama laughed and said, “You should've learned the technique before you turned against me! It's impossible to fight your way out of my grip! I control every muscle, every vein in your body!”

Her own body is thrown around like a puppet. She can’t control anything that’s happening. Katara feels so lost as her arms and legs move on their own. 

She is the last bender from her village, dammit! She will not lose this fight!

The moon! Yue help her, please Yue, help her through this. 

Power rushed through Katara’s veins as she felt the full moon coursing through her. 

She smirked, “You're not the only one who draws power from the moon!” She completely broke free and moved into a fighting stance. “My bending is more powerful than yours, Hama. Your technique is useless on me!

The next moments were a blur. She fought her ass off as she used her bending against Hama. every minute was terrifying and if she took the time to really think about what she was doing, she would never get through it at all. Aang, Sokka, and Toph showed up, as well as Zuko’s sister and his friends. When all is said and done, Katara watched as they dragged Hama away, once again in chains. 

“Katara!” Hama screamed. “Don’t let me go back there! Finish the job, please! Think of our people, they deserve justice!” 

She looked on in horror as the woman screamed and cried about being locked away again. It’s not right, she should do something, but she can’t. 

Katara didn’t do anything as Hama left. 

Katara fell to her knees and sobbed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope i got hama's ending right. i didn't like how she was this evil person in the show, i wanted to kinda show that she was human and that it was terrible that she had to end up going back to prison. like, i felt so bad for her and i wanted better for her, this isn't much better but i think it's a start
> 
> (also, if you're reading this as a whole work or have just read a lot of fic today, drink some water and go to the bathroom, this is a good place to stop and rest :))
> 
> lmk what you think, i hope you liked it! :)


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